Namibian Sheriff rides on the crest of the UK waves
…pitchside with Ronnie ‘Jaly’ Kamaundju
TAugusti he job description of aUpon football coach is to plan and lead training sessions with the ultimate aim of helping players improve playing the beautiful game, motivating staff, and developing skills and strategies of the modern game.
Football coaches are specialists in the game and lead, train, and support the entire playing personnel and make sure their subjects fully understand the fundamentals of the game.
Young Namibian Ronnie Jamen Kamaundju, nowadays residing happily in Liverpool, England, has mastered the art of football coaching and is making waves in the lowertier ranks of the game in his adopted country.
New Era Sport caught up with the enthusiastic gap-toothed young mentor as he walks us through his newly-acquired lifestyle on the wet football pitches across the Mediterranean seas abroad.
Born Ronnie German Kamaundju in Namibia’s commercial hub Windhoek on 24 December 1989, young Jaly was always football crazy, tailing in the footsteps of his football-playing uncle – former Hungry Lions Football Club versatile midfielder-cumdefender Chris Hauii ‘Toy Ramosa’ Kamaundju.
Nowadays a resident in the diaspora peddling on the assumed status of economic refugee in the historic Maritime city of Liverpool, United Kingdom, home to the greatest pop music ensemble of all time The Beatles, the 33-year-old has found warmness and peace of mind far away from home.
Jaly, as Ronnie is affectionately known among his vast circle of friends and subjects back home in his native Land of the Brave and abroad, started his long and winding football journey as a dedicated ball boy for the nowdefunct Katutura giant killers Hungry Lions Football Club, aka the ‘Brave Lions of Judah’.
He joined the School of Excellence under the guidance of much-travelled former Sorento Bucks, Black Africa, Young Ones, Ramblers football clubs, and South West Africa Provincial football team ball juggler, the late Albert Lucky Richter, followed by stints with Impala Chiefs, and Young African between 2013 and 2014.
There is a saying that those who can play the game with a certain measure of competence should continue doing what they do best, taking their game to the next level while those with limited playing ability are humbly advised to try their hand at sports writing, commentary, punditry or better still, become coaches……excuse the pun!!!
Well, as it turned out, the latter was the perfect destination for the football-crazy Jaly. The Hungry Lions protégé was subsequently installed as assistant coach for the regional Ovitoto Kambekura All Stars Invitational Football side under the stewardship of his uncle Toy Kamaundju, who took his pikinini nephew under his wing.
It was not long before young Jaly took over the reins as head coach upon the unavoidable retirement of Kamaundju senior. He also mentored his village team Okatjasorui Eleven in the informal KASU League with a great measure of success, steering the team to victories in several high-profile knockout cup tourneys.
In his own words, Jaly was always inspired by incumbent assistant coach of the Brave Warriors Ronnie ‘The Magnet’ Kanalelo, former Brave Warriors midfield general and Cosafa regional cup winning gaffer Ricardo ‘Bucksy’ Manetti, and South African multiple league title-winning coach Pitso ‘Jingles’ Mosimane.
He also cites his homeboys Jamunovandu ‘Congo’ Ngatjizeko, and the much-travelled Hot Flames, Civics, Eleven Arrows and African Stars calculated defender – the late Bobby Kaapama, as his heroes.
A proud holder of several FA coaching badges, Jaly is currently guiding amateur outfit Sporting Merseyside FC in his adopted city of Liverpool. Even though he is well settled in Liverpool, many Namibians, including the author, will somehow be a bit disappointed to learn that their fellow countryman is a big fan of Everton.
“Eish….my ultimate dream and desire is to coach Katutura glamour football club African Stars one day. Who knows what the future holds though; it’s a bitter pill to swallow given my loyalty to boyhood team Hungry Lions, and of course, my second favourite team behind the Brave Lions of Judah… Black Africa.”
The football-crazy boy from Katutura is currently burning the midnight oil to complete his Uefa C-Licence. Off the pitch, the young Namibian is a keen reader of books and never passes an opportunity to spend a few stolen minutes in libraries, in addition to casual walks around the public parks to while away time when not on the football fields doing what he loves the most, taking footballers through the ropes.
RIP - Manfred /Uxamb 1954 – 2023
The historical capital city of the vastly-populated Otjozondjupa region, Otjiwarongo, is mourning the sad loss of one of its most treasured products.
The untimely death of former Otjiwarongo Municipality chief executive officer, one Manfred / Uxamb, has left many of the city’s inhabitants in utter shock and devastated.
A truly great man of substance, the usually easy-going Orwetoveni socialite was not only a well-liked community activist, ‘Bro Man’, as the author would always call him whenever we met or chat over the phone, was a man of a multitude of talents, intellectual par excellence, God-fearing, and above all, hard as nails defender on the football field.
Although ‘Bro Man’ started his football career with boyhood team Black Marrokko Chiefs (BMC) in his native Otjiwarongo, the hard running defender only rose to prominence when he went to further his academic aspirations at the revered Cornelius Goreseb High School (Welwitschia) in Khorixas, holed up in the dry semidesert Kunene region.
Apart from playing for the school’s senior football team, ‘Bro Man’ cemented himself as a nononsense fullback for local giants Robber Chanties, before moving to the city of bright lights (Windhoek) to join forces with Katutura giants Orlando Pirates, where he was reunited with homeboys Ananias ‘Bigman’ Nanuseb, Gottfriedt ‘Lewa’ Awaseb, and Lukas ‘Fly’ Namaseb, ushering in the Buccaneers’ smooth sailing ship.
‘Bro Man’ was elder brother to the equally-gifted footballplaying Gowaseb siblings - Axab and the recently-departed Gerson - offspring of noted Detective Officer, the late Zedicias ‘Ou Blessy’ Auchab.