African Cup of Nations Preview: Namibia

January 7th, 2008 | by: Daryl | Comments(3)

The are now 13 days – less than two weeks – until Ghana face Guinea in Accra to kick off the 2008 African Cup of Nations, and 13 more teams to preview. We’ve met everyone in Group A (Ghana, Morocco and Guinea) except Namibia. And that’s about to change.

The Brave Warriors are a team without all the fancy European-based players that other countries can boast. But they do have one big name at Hamburg and a ton of players earning a living at big South African players. They’ve also recently lost the coach who led them here and will be playing to honour his memory. So please step inside and meet Namibia.

Nickname: The Brave Warriors

Jersey: All red (home.) All white (away.) Let’s hope they never accidentally wash the two together.

Geography: “Namibia lies in Southwest Africa and borders the South Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola to the north, Zambia in the northeast, Botswana in Southeast and South Africa to the South.” – The Africa Guide

History: Namibia qualified for the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 1998. Ten years later they are back for a second appearance. In 1998 The Brave Warriors finished bottom of Group C mostly thanks to a 4-1 beating at the hands of South Africa (Benni McCarthy getting all four) but only narrowly lost a goal-filled 4-3 game to Côte d’Ivoire and drew 3-3 with Angola. That’s seven goals in three games, so hardly a disaster.

Namibia have yet to qualify for a World Cup.

The big recent and tragic news for the Namibian team has been the ill health and recent passing of coach Ben Bamfuchile. The Zambian was popular with both the Namibian FA and the players and can count leading them to African Cup of Nations 2008 qualification as a genuine achievement.

Manager: Bamfuchile’s replacement is Dutchman Arie Schans. Schans has international experience coaching Bhutan and has worked in Mozambique as well as in China and Japan. He’s a worldly fellow then, but has only had one month to work with the Namibia squad ahead of the tournament, taking over in early December after Bamfuchile resigned through ill health.

FIFA World Ranking (December 2007): 114

Expectations: Unfortunately for The Mighty Warriors, the team is expected to finish bottom of Group A. Ghana, Guinea and Morocco can all boast big European-based names and will be looking at Namibia as three points just waiting to be collected. But don’t bet against Namibia capitalizing if any of the other three show complacency.

Pros: It’s possible that Bamfuchile’s death will inspire the team to play above themselves, and certainly the Namibian FA have asked the team to honor his memory. To do so The Brave Warriors will need Collin Benjamin (pictured, tackling Freddie Ljungberg) to be on top of his game. Benjamin is a defensive midfielder or full-back who plays for Hamburg SV in the Bundesliga. Known for his pace, strength and physical approach and for being everywhere at once (in a good way,) meaning he must be an absolute pain to play against. While they lack European based stars, Namibia have plenty of experienced players like defender Mohamed Ouseb, who has spent many seasons in the nearby South African league and was in the 1998 AFCON squad. Veteran midfielder Robert Nauseb (who also plays in South Africa and has AFCON experience from the ‘98 tournament) has recently returned to the team for the first time since June 2007 [update: I'm reliably informed that Nauseb is now out again, with a recurrent knee injury.]

Cons: It’s equally possible that both the the emotional and organizational impact of losing their coach will affect The Brave Warriors on the pitch, especially as Schans has only been in the job since early December. Beyond Benjamin, Namibia lack quality European-based players on the level of their Group A rivals. Defender Razundara Tjikuzu, who has played for Bundesliga teams Werder Bremen, Hansa Rostock and Duisburg is arguably Namibia’s best know player, but had fallen out with Ben Bamfuchile so has didn’t play in any of the qualifiers and probably won’t be in the AFCON squad as the Namibian FA and Schans are emphasizing continuity. If anyone has any further information on this fallout please let us know.

Player to Watch: Though Collin Benjamin is undoubtedly the star man, the most exciting prospect is possibly Lazarus Kaimbi, who plays for South Africa’s Jomo Cosmos. Kaimbi has been called up to the full squad after starring for Namibia’s Under-21s at the COSAFA U21 competition in South Africa in December 2007. Nothing like seeing a young star emerge at a tournament, so let’s hope Kaimbi can do just that.

Team Blog? No. But let us know if you want to blog about the Brave Warriors and we’ll hook you up.

Fixtures: In Group A with Morocco, Guinea and Ghana.
Namibia vs Morocco (Accra, January 21st, 15:00)
Namibia vs Ghana (Accra, January 24th, 19:30)
Namibia vs Guinea (Sekondi, January 28th, 17:00)

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Athiel Mbaha (Orlando Pirates), Abisia Shiningayamwe (Jomo Cosmos, South Africa), Aphraim Tjihonge (Black Leopards, South Africa)

Defenders: Michael Pienaar (Ramblers), Franklin April (Civics), Gottlieb Nakuta (Blue Waters), Richard Gariseb (Wits University, South Africa), Hartman Toromba (Black Leopards, South Africa), Jeremiah Baisako (Ramblers), Maleagi Ngarizemo (FC Cape Town, South Africa)

Midfielders: Quinton Jacobs (Bryne FC, Norway), Brian Brendell (Civics), Abraham Shatimuene (Premeiro de Agosto, Angola), Jamunovandu Ngatjizeko (Civics), Oliver Risser (SC Bonner, Germany), Sydney Plaatjies (Jomo Cosmos, South Africa), Wycliff Kambonde (Jomo Cosmos, South Africa), Collin Benjamin (Hamburg SV, Germany)

Strikers: Muna Katupose (Oshakati City), Levis Meraai Swartbooi (Premeiro de Agosto, Angola), Rudolf Bester (Eleven Arrows), Jabob Pineas (Ramblers), Lazarus Kaimbi (Jomo Cosmos, South Africa)