A fitting send-off for Ricardo

HUNDREDS of football fans flocked to the Independence Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday to witness the final match of former Brave Warriors great Ricardo Mannetti.

The player, popularly known as Bucksy or Cardo to his ex-Civics, Santos (SA) and Brave Warriors teammates, made his final official appearance on a football pitch. The 31-year-old maestro, one of the finest distributors of the ball to have come from this country, brought a glittering 15-year playing career to an end.Missing were some of the players and coaches that had contributed immensely to the development and progress of Ricardo’s career but their absence did not dampen the joyous spirit that prevailed in the Independence Stadium on Saturday.Players like former Brave Warriors goalkeeper Ronnie ‘The Magnet’ Kanalelo, former Brave Warriors captain Bimbo Tjihero, former Civics midfield dynamo Sputla Masite and Pele Isaacs, Ricardo’s mentors Rusten ‘Sukhile’ Mogane and Peter ‘Corporal’ Ueberjahn, who coached Mannetti during his earlier days, were conspicuous in their absence.The maestro was, however, happy with the number of his former and current Brave Warriors teammates who chose to cut their holidays short to participate in the final official football match of their renowned colleague.And the hundreds of soccer fans who added to the great atmosphere at the stadium will agree that their hero received a befitting send-off on Saturday.The fans clearly loved every moment of the soccer match, which pitted former Brave Warriors stars against the current crop.The exciting encounter produced 14 goals, which could have been more befitting considering that the hard-working midfield kingpin spent 15 years playing soccer for club and country around Africa and Europe.The soft-spoken Ricardo was an ever-present figure in the Brave Warriors team ever since he made his début at age 17 in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia in Windhoek shortly after Namibia’s Independence.The former Civics legend grew in stature as he emerged as one of Namibia’s biggest stars after the historic African Cup of Nations finals in Burkina Faso with a five-star performance which attracted the attention of talent scouts in neighbouring South Africa.He secured a professional contract with Castle Premier Soccer League outfit Santos FC, which continued for seven very successful years which saw him annexing a league title in 2001-2002 and the BP Top Eight and Absa cups in 2002/2003.The only thing missing from Ricardo’s CV is probably his failure to secure a contract in one of the rich leagues of Europe, however, the boy from the Bethlehem suburb in Khomasdal made up for that with a historic Gothia Cup win in Sweden with the junior national soccer team in the early 90s.The gifted ball player also enjoyed a few successes with the Brave Warriors, which have all been overshadowed by the Brave Warriors participation in the Afcon finals in 1998, including two Cosafa Castle Cup triumphs over powerhouse South Africa.He was also present when Namibia defeated a powerful Ivory Coast side 2-1 in an international friendly in Windhoek.The Elephants were returning back to their country after a successful Four Nations Cup campaign in South Africa then.Ricardo was considered as one of the fittest players to have played for Namibia but Saturday was a different story as he, although still willing to chase after a soccer ball, looked a bit heavy on his feet.And, like he said afterwards: “I am still young at heart, but not as fast as I used to be.”The will to play is very strong but the body can just not match the fitness of the younger players of today.”Saturday’s match started off at a very slow pace as the two teams appeared to be testing each other out but the tempo upped a little as the current crop of Brave Warriors opted to beat their predecessors with pace and fitness.The current Warriors made their intention clear when they took an early lead after a quick succession of goals from striker Costa Kheiseb and skipper Enrico Botes, both of whom ply their trade in the South African Premier League.Kheiseb, who plays for Black Leopards, draw a huge sigh from the crowd when he rounded off veteran goalie Dax Andjamba to net the opening goal in the seventh minute with Moroka Swallows star Botes repeated the action in the 11th minute.The current squad resorted to crowd-pleasing antics and mesmerised their seniors with a flurry of one-touches, much to the pleasure of the huge crowd but little did they know what their seniors had planned for them.Former Orlando Pirates striker Mabos ‘Viali’ Ortman received a huge cheer from the crowd when he controlled a pass from midfield before he rattled Denzil Bruwer’s net in the current squad’s goal in the 20th minute.It became very clear by that time that the majority of the crowd, including former Prime Minister Hage Geingob and this reporter, were in favour of the former stars.The former stars almost grabbed an equaliser after ex-Chief Santos sharpshooter Gerros ‘The Bomber’ Witbeen forced Bruwer to make a quick reflex save with a low piledriver in the 34th minute.Tigers midfield sensation Letu Shitumwene silenced the crowd with a masterful chip two minutes later to record the third goal for the current team before Turkish-based star Razundara Tjikuzu narrowed the lead to 3-2 with his 38th-minute goal.After several unsuccessful attempts Ricardo finally got his name on the score sheet after he pounced on a through ball from midfield before he rounded off Bruwer to level the score for the previous stars five minutes before halftime.The former stars entertained the crowd with ball players like Quinton Jacobs and Lolo Goraseb showing some artistry with ball while Ramblers ace Rudy Louw and Shitumwene also showed off their ball wizardry for the current squad.The floodgates opened in the second half when the former stars went on a scoring spree with two goals coming from former Santos star Berlin ‘Pancho’ Auckumeb before Louw, Nelson Akwenye and Shitumwene stretched the current squad’s tally.Robert ‘Baggio’ Nauseb, who plays for Santos in South Africa, showed the young ones that he still has what it takes to play at the top level when he dribbled his way through a cluster of defenders before he chipped, what turned out to be goal of the match, into Bruwer’s goal.Botes scored his second of the match before his teammate Louw, also on his second of the match made it seven for the youngsters.The senior team failed to throw in the towel and Auckumeb, with his second, and Goraseb scored to bring the final score to 7-all.Truly a goal feast to remember for the fans who expressed their satisfaction with the quality of the match with a standing ovation for the retiring Mannetti.The 31-year-old maestro, one of the finest distributors of the ball to have come from this country, brought a glittering 15-year playing career to an end.Missing were some of the players and coaches that had contributed immensely to the development and progress of Ricardo’s career but their absence did not dampen the joyous spirit that prevailed in the Independence Stadium on Saturday.Players like former Brave Warriors goalkeeper Ronnie ‘The Magnet’ Kanalelo, former Brave Warriors captain Bimbo Tjihero, former Civics midfield dynamo Sputla Masite and Pele Isaacs, Ricardo’s mentors Rusten ‘Sukhile’ Mogane and Peter ‘Corporal’ Ueberjahn, who coached Mannetti during his earlier days, were conspicuous in their absence.The maestro was, however, happy with the number of his former and current Brave Warriors teammates who chose to cut their holidays short to participate in the final official football match of their renowned colleague.And the hundreds of soccer fans who added to the great atmosphere at the stadium will agree that their hero received a befitting send-off on Saturday.The fans clearly loved every moment of the soccer match, which pitted former Brave Warriors stars against the current crop.The exciting encounter produced 14 goals, which could have been more befitting considering that the hard-working midfield kingpin spent 15 years playing soccer for club and country around Africa and Europe.The soft-spoken Ricardo was an ever-present figure in the Brave Warriors team ever since he made his début at age 17 in an African Cup of Nations qualifier against Zambia in Windhoek shortly after Namibia’s Independence. The former Civics legend grew in stature as he emerged as one of Namibia’s biggest stars after the historic African Cup of Nations finals in Burkina Faso with a five-star performance which attracted the attention of talent scouts in neighbouring South Africa.He secured a professional contract with Castle Premier Soccer League outfit Santos FC, which continued for seven very successful years which saw him annexing a league title in 2001-2002 and the BP Top Eight and Absa cups in 2002/2003.The only thing missing from Ricardo’s CV is probably his failure to secure a contract in one of the rich leagues of Europe, however, the boy from the Bethlehem suburb in Khomasdal made up for that with a historic Gothia Cup win in Sweden with the junior national soccer team in the early 90s.The gifted ball player also enjoyed a few successes with the Brave Warriors, which have all been overshadowed by the Brave Warriors participation in the Afcon finals in 1998, including two Cosafa Castle Cup triumphs over powerhouse South Africa.He was also present when Namibia defeated a powerful Ivory Coast side 2-1 in an international friendly in Windhoek.The Elephants were returning back to their country after a successful Four Nations Cup campaign in South Africa then.Ricardo was considered as one of the fittest players to have played for Namibia but Saturday was a different story as he, although still willing to chase after a soccer ball, looked a bit heavy on his feet.And, like he said afterwards: “I am still young at heart, but not as fast as I used to be.”The will to play is very strong but the body can just not match the fitness of the younger players of today.”Saturday’s match started off at a very slow pace as the two teams appeared to be testing each other out but the tempo upped a little as the current crop of Brave Warriors opted to beat their predecessors with pace and fitness.The current Warriors made their intention clear when they took an early lead after a quick succession of goals from striker Costa Kheiseb and skipper Enrico Botes, both of whom ply their trade in the South African Premier League.Kheiseb, who plays for Black Leopards, draw a huge sigh from the crowd when he rounded off veteran goalie Dax Andjamba to net the opening goal in the seventh minute with Moroka Swallows star Botes repeated the action in the 11th minute.The current squad resorted to crowd-pleasing antics and mesmerised their seniors with a flurry of one-touches, much to the pleasure of the huge crowd but little did they know what their seniors had planned for them.Former Orlando Pirates striker Mabos ‘Viali’ Ortman received a huge cheer from the crowd when he controlled a pass from midfield before he rattled Denzil Bruwer’s net in the current squad’s goal in the 20th minute.It became very clear by that time that the majority of the crowd, including former Prime Minister Hage Geingob and this reporter, were in favour of the former stars.The former stars almost grabbed an equaliser after ex-Chief Santos sharpshooter Gerros ‘The Bomber’ Witbeen forced Bruwer to make a quick reflex save with a low piledriver in the 34th minute.Tigers midfield sensation Letu Shitumwene silenced the crowd with a masterful chip two minutes later to record the third goal for the current team before Turkish-based star Razundara Tjikuzu narrowed the lead to 3-2 with his 38th-minute goal.After several unsuccessful attempts Ricardo finally got his name on the score sheet after he pounced on a through ball from midfield before he rounded off Bruwer to level the score for the previous stars five minutes before halftime.The former stars entertained the crowd with ball players like Quinton Jacobs and Lolo Goraseb showing some artistry with ball while Ramblers ace Rudy Louw and Shitumwene also showed off their ball wizardry for the current squad.The floodgates opened in the second half when the former stars went on a scoring spree with two goals coming from former Santos star Berlin ‘Pancho’ Auckumeb before Louw, Nelson Akwenye and Shitumwene stretched the current squad’s tally.Robert ‘Baggio’ Nauseb, who plays for Santos in South Africa, showed the young ones that he still has what it takes to play at the top level when he dribbled his way through a cluster of defenders before he chipped, what turned out to be goal of the match, into Bruwer’s goal.Botes scored his second of the match before his teammate Louw, also on his second of the match made it seven for the youngsters.The senior team failed to throw in the towel and Auckumeb, with his second, and Goraseb scored to bring the final score to 7-all.Truly a goal feast to remember for the fans who expressed their satisfaction with the quality of the match with a standing ovation for the retiring Mannetti.