Carlos Kambaekwa
3 October 2008
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The name Bobby Kurtz might sound a bit unfamiliar these days but the lanky lad with an American afro-hairstyle has certainly left a lasting mark in the annals of Namibian football.
He was the first ever player of colour to achieve what was then perceived the impossible when he jumped ship from his childhood team Namib Woestyn to join the predominantly white club, Sparta Football Club, during the height of apartheid.
Young Bobby's football career is a story of a young man who had an obsession
for playing for a well organized club and would not give up his desire to fulfill his dream even after he was turned down by Atlantis Football Club, whose policy prohibited non-white players to come within close proximity of the club's premises - let alone sharing its sacred changing rooms with darkies.
Here he takes you the reader through various scary tales on the football pitch and the day when the notorious Black Marocco Chiefs (BMC) of Otjiwarongo adjusted football rules whenever the odds were stacked against them.
Born in the coastal town of Walvis Bay 57 years ago - Bobby started chasing leather at a very young age and by the time he enrolled at the Naraville Primary School - he was the toast of the school team where he rubbed shoulders with one of the most gifted footballers in the 70's, the late Allen van Harte. His other teammates included Laka Brown and Nicky Titus.
Young Bobby developed itchy feet and changed schools - moving across town to the Kuisebmond School in 1966, where he found himself in the company of other talented youngsters such as Jerry Ekandjo (current Minister of Lands & Resettlement), Slaka Imbili, Jerry Tobias. The youngsters formed a deadly combination and became the toast of the township in the popular after-school street challenge mini games.
1968 saw Bobby moving to Khorixas to further his studies at the Welwitschia High School where he immediately settled into the fearful school team that consisted of other gifted players in the mould of Axarob "Jamaica" Gowaseb, the purveyor of the bicycle kick.
Back home, Bobby would always turn out for his childhood team Namib Woestyn but his long journey to stardom started in the reserves where he played alongside Gerson Benson, Chris and Lukas Araeb.
By 1970, Bobby had graduated to the star-studded first team under the leadership of Laurentius "Daito" Hagedoorn. Other star players in the lineup included Eddie Cloete, Lala Lombard, Straal Auchumeb, Petrus "Haban" Adams, Bethuel "Five" Hochobeb and young Ambrossius Vyff.
"In those days, there were no proper league structures in place and we only played a lot of friendlies and knock-out tournaments. However, the friendly games were very competitive with pride at stake and Eleven Arrows used to give us a good run for our money because they had a very good squad. There was also this very talented team from Okombahe going by the name of Pepsi Cola."
Bobby's favourite tournament used to be the annual Municipality Cup, which pitted local teams from the Kuisebmond enclave against each other. "Arrows used to dominate most knock-out tournaments and there was another entertaining team that was called Blue Birds, nicknamed 'the Italians' because of their style of play. They had good youngsters led by Ranga Lucas, Riva and Moripe Jakonia, Dacosta Angula and Castro Gowaseb," recalls Bobby.
"One game that I'll never forget as long as I'm still breathing was our high-tempo clash against Orlando Pirates in the Joko Tea Knock-Out Cup in Keetmanshoop. You see in those days Pirates were like semi-gods in the south and when we met them - the match resembled a battlefield with no quarter asked or given. We found ourselves trailing by two goals in the opening two minutes. Pirates' second goal was highly controversial, as the ball had clearly crossed the goal line before Jimmy 'Bassieman' Naruseb pulled it back.
"Our centre back Lucas Araeb took no prisoners and was roughing up their players and when he came face to face with Pirates' robust fullback Isaac 'Hoops' Brown.
"The pair started to exchange blows and the referee (a white bloke) had to abandon the match. After some sweet talk, the match finally resumed and Barry Stephanus pulled a goal back for us five minutes before the halftime break.
"Axarob equalized after halftime forcing the tie into extra time, and then Daito produced a moment of sheer brilliance when he dribbled past the static Pirates defence consisting of Isaac Brown, Matheus 'Ou Growwes' Namaseb, John 'Yster'" Awarab and Dios Engelbrecht, to score what would turn out the winning goal.
"In the process, Pirates' acrobatic keeper Abel Nero suffered a broken rib after clashing with Daito and that's where the rivalry between the two clubs started.".
After years of unsurpassed success in the gold and green colours of Namib Woestyn - it was time to move on and the hippy look-alike Bobby would stop at nothing to fulfill his desire of playing for a white club. He approached Atlantis to consider him for selection but the German club would have none of that and told the slender township boy in no uncertain terms that the club was exclusively for the pale-skinned.
"I felt a bit down and went to try my luck at Sparta where Ivo de Gouveia defied the authorities by giving me the thumbs up to join the boys at their practice sessions and the rest is history."
National selectors spotted Bobby and had little hesitation in drafting the skinny lad into the South West Africa Invitation from the then whites only league in 1977.
"Ja, we played against a South African Black Eleven that had Ephraim 'Shakes' Mashaba, Joseph 'Banks' Sethlothi, Webster Lechaba, and Bernard 'Dancing Shoes' Hartze in their lineup and we beat them 2 - 1, at the Atlantis field in Walvis Bay..
"We had a very good team that consisted of myself, Jimmy Orchard, Donny Renzke, Hans and Herbert Lohmeir, Carlos and Ivo de Gouveia, Uwe Bachman, Hartmund Beyer, Ronny Dagnin and a couple of guys from Windhoek.
"The guys in the township used to call me a puppet and I was sometimes torn between two walls because there were also some whities (supporters) at Sparta who were skeptical about my presence in the team's colours. I think the main reason why some supporters never took me to their liking was my style because I used to wear a beret with lots of small Swapo badges attached to it."
In his own words, Sparta used to sweep aside all their opponents during his time besides African Stars. "They were a very well balanced team and had very good players in Willy Rwida and Oscar 'Silver Fox' Mengo."
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