Class of 1998: Where are they now?

Goalkeepers Fillemon ‘Ronnie’ Kanalelo The man nicknamed ‘The Magnet’ was the first-choice goalkeeper of the Brave Warriors during the tournament and featured in all three of Namibia’s matches. He enjoyed a glittering career with South African side Mamelodi Sundowns, from where he retired in 2005. He subsequently ventured into coaching and is currently the assistant coach of the Brave Warriors in addition to being the coach of the Under-20 national team. Petrus ‘Dax’ Andjamba Revered mostly for his size, Andjamba was the understudy to Kanalelo and thus, though being a regular call-up to the Brave Warriors, hardly featured for the national team during his prime years. The former goalkeeper is employed at NamPower and coaches that company’s football team. Denzyl Bruwer The youngest of the goalkeepers at the 1998 spectacle, Bruwer was included in the team largely to gain experience and did not play in any of the games. He would go on to become the first-choice national keeper upon Kanalelo’s exit from the team. He is currently involved in a company that specialises in installing vehicle tracking devices and also regularly acts as announcer during Brave Warriors matches. Defenders Sylvanus Ndjambari The left back, who was 23 at the time, did not feature during the tournament but cemented his place in the Brave Warriors team during the years after the event. Having been an instrumental player for Black Africa, he sadly took his own life in 2003. Bimbo Tjihero The captain of the class of ’98 only played two matches in Burkina Faso after being suspended for the game against South Africa. His absence was said to be the greatest factor in Namibia losing that tie 4-1, as Benni McCarthy netted all four goals on his way to superstardom. He is currently in the management team of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) television department. Mohammed Ouseb ‘Slice’ played in all three of Namibia’s matches and went on to become one of the most successful players from the squad. He was crowned Kickoff Player of the Year in the 1998/99 season while still on the books of South African glamour club Kaizer Chiefs. He was plagued by injury and was still actively playing as recently as 2009/2010 when he was on the books of the Namibian version of Orlando Pirates. After trying his hand at coaching, the former defender is now working for a local construction firm. Stanley ‘Tiger’ Goagoseb Another player who featured in all of the Brave Warriors’ matches, Tiger officially retired from playing in 2003 while at Civics but continues to be active till this day. Last year, he acted as a player/coach at Second Division side Hardap Boys and he’s had various roles at teams like Orlando Pirates and Tigers, he told Namibian Sun. He was also the Hardap’s Region under-17 coach at the Skorpion Zinc tournament last year and is currently a farmer in the Mariental area. Phillip Gariseb The Otjiwarongo player featured in all of Namibia’s matches, although he was substituted in the final group game to make way for Berlin Auchumeb as the Brave Warriors were chasing the game. Namibian Sun understands that he is still living at Otjiwarongo. Petrus ‘Orlando’ Haraseb Orlando only played in Namibia’s last group match against South Africa as a replacement for the suspended Bimbo Tjihero. Having played for the now defunct Liverpool from Okahandja, Haraseb was dropped from the Brave Warriors team after the tournament. He is currently working as a tour guide in the Kunene Region. Midfielders Sandro de Gouveia The coastal resident never started any of the Brave Warriors matches but came on to great effect against Ivory Coast and Angola. The versatile midfielder served Blue Waters until his retirement and is said to be involved still in some capacity at the coastal outfit. He is now an established businessman in Walvis Bay. Ricardo Mannetti ‘Bucksy’ featured in two of the Brave Warriors’ matches. After a career at South African clubs Santos and Bush Bucks, the midfielder called time on his playing career in 2006. Following stints coaching Civics and Black Africa, Mannetti started coaching the under-20 national team in 2011, from where he was later roped in to serve as assistant coach at senior level. He is currently the head coach of the Brave Warriors. Simon ‘China’ Uutoni ‘China’ played in all three matches and scored a spectacular goal against South Africa in the Brave Warriors’ final group match. Having turned out for Okahandja’s Liverpool, the wingback retired from playing in 2004 while doing duty for Oshakati City. He is currently involved in the construction business in northern Namibia and lists building Bennie’s Entertainment Park and NHE houses as some of his achievements. Robert Nauseb The right winger is another of the players who featured in all three matches and he went on to play for South African glamour club Kaizer Chiefs where he helped the team win back-to-back Rothmans Cup titles. He went on to feature for several other PSL teams, as well as a second-tier team in Ikapa Sporting. Nauseb is now a youth coach for Johannesburg outfit Bidvest Wits. Johannes ‘Congo’ Hindjou The midfielder also started every one of Namibia’s matches at the 1998 showpiece but interestingly he never completed any single game. The talented playmaker had a colourful career that saw him winning league titles with Okahandja’s Liverpool and Civics before he retired in 2007, with African Stars being his last club. He tried his hand at coaching and had stints in charge of Okahandja outfit Spoilers and Walvis Bay’s Eleven Arrows. He has since become involved in the local players’ union and is listed as the managing director of vehicle tracking company Safesky Namibia. Sylvester ‘Lolo’ Goraseb The midfielder played as a substitute in two matches, both times replacing Hindjou on the park. A one-club man, at least in the elite league, Goraseb is considered as a legend at Black Africa, from where he retired in 2009. The midfielder is still very much involved with the team and recently made the trip to South Africa to support the team when they faced Kaizer Chiefs. He is the president of Namibia’s Football Players’ Union (NAFPU) and is also a regular guest on a sports show of the NBC. He is employed as a civil servant in the Office of the Prime Minister. Johannes ‘Dockies’ Jossop He is perhaps the least known of the players who went to the 1998 spectacle. An attacking midfielder at Black Africa, Doc was a late inclusion in the squad following some injury withdrawals. He retired from the game in 2002 and is currently involved in karakul farming in the Vaalgras area. Frans ‘Page’ Ananias The left-footed player only featured in Namibia’s final group game against South Africa. He went on to play in Germany for a number of years. He later had a short-lived stint as an assistant coach at Tigers upon his retirement. He remains active on the playing field where he turns out for DMH’s social team, among others, and is employed at a local pathology laboratory. Strikers Gervatius ‘Gerros’ Urikhob ‘The Bomber’ was revered for his awesome shooting power and proved it on Africa’s biggest platform by netting twice during the event. A long-time Chief Santos player, the striker eventually finished his playing career with the team. He is currently said to be working as a technician in the far north-western part of the country. Eliphas ‘Safile’ Shivute The striker was undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of this team and lived up to his tag by scoring two goals during the tournament. Shivute had a stint in Scotland before heading to China. He has generally steered clear of the media since his retirement and is now a recognised businessman who has interests in the fishing and construction industries. Fillemon ‘Cas-Cas’ Angula The dreadlocked forward is possibly one of the best headers of the ball the country has ever produced. While he never featured during the 1998 tournament, he was to become a sporadic Brave Warriors team member while playing for Oshakati City. He branched into coaching and was in charge of Ongwediva City last year. Namibian Sun understands that he is now working on establishing a football academy in Ondangwa. Berlin ‘Pancho’ Auchumeb The striker will forever be remembered for scoring the winning goal against South Africa in the Cosafa Cup prior to the team’s departure for Burkina Faso. Pancho was introduced as a substitute in two matches during the event. He later had a stint playing for Jomo Cosmos in South Africa and retired in 2008 to concentrate on his work at a bank, where he has been employed since 2006. Ruben van Wyk A very clinical finisher with Blue Waters, among others, the striker never took to the field in Burkina Faso but did enough in the subsequent years to earn a move to QwaQwa Stars (now Free State Stars) in South Africa. Precious little is known about the exact whereabouts of the Walvis Bay-born player, with most of his former teammates speculating that he is in Johannesburg, South Africa.