‘Collo’: Hamburg SV through and through

COLLIN Benjamin (32) is the longest serving player in the Hamburg SV squad.

On Saturday the popular Namibian will bid farewell to the club he has served so well for many years. hsv.de thought it appropriate to reflect on his time at the club. Somehow Benjamin belongs to Hamburg, and to HSV. It’s as if he grew up there. That is how his accent sounds whenever he speaks German. It brings a smile to the faces of everyone who hears it. In truth, Benjamin came to Hamburg at 21 years of age: ‘Really only for a couple of weeks,’ he remembers. ‘I wanted to become a professional footballer and because no German scout came to Namibia, I decided to go to Germany.’ Benjamin studied in Namibia, and visited Germany during the summer break hoping to make a few contacts. Those contacts led him to coach Ingo Kock and division five at first. An international player playing for fifth-division side Germania Schnelsen.’It wasn’t easy,’ admits Benjamin looking back. However things were about to take a turn for the better. He stayed in Germany and together with Kock moved to third division side Raspo Elmshorn. ‘I knew that HSV’s reserve team played in that league, so I wanted to impress and sign for them. I looked at it as a major chance for me,’ Benjamin said. And that is exactly what happened. Benjamin impressed the then HSV reserve coach Stefan Böger who said at the time: ‘I want that black man to play in my team,’ the Namibian international captain said with a little laugh. A 145 Bundesliga games on, the rest as they say is history, he made the first team squad from the reserves and never looked back.Benjamin played in almost all positions within the team, bar between the posts as a keeper earning him the nickname of ‘Fireman’. TOUGH TIMESWhile still at Raspo, his Hamburg adventure almost came to a pre-mature end. He explained: ‘The people at Raspo gave me a tiny hotel room to live in. They only trained three times per week in the evening. I hardly knew anyone and spoke little German. It was a tough time. I used to ride a bike all day or went jogging. I was on the verge of packing my bags.’But then, crucially, came the game against the HSV reserves. ‘Had that game been played two weeks later, I would not have played in it,’ said ‘Collo’, as he was affectionately known by the Hamburg S faithful again with a broad grin:He knows that pure determination won the day for him and it took him much further than a lot of his ‘big-name team mates’ who joined HSV during his time there. Benjamin admits that at the time there were many better players at the club than him but they did not get as far as he has.’I had a lot of courage, but also a lot of luck for which I will be ever grateful.’ Benjamin simply felt at home and needed at HSV, it was as simple as that. Even during the times when he was only sporadically used, he lived up to his reputation of being a ‘Fireman’. Regardless of where he had to play, Collo did the job for the team. He has played in every defensive position and midfield too: ‘And in my national team I played mostly as a striker,’ revealed Collo. HIGHLIGHTSBenjamin has many fond memories to take with him as he leaves HSV, following the final game of the season against relegation haunted Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Imtech Arena tomorrow. He scored a crucial goal against cross-town Hamburg rivals St.Pauli in 2001. In his time at the club, Benjamin has rubbed shoulders with the some of the world’s finest players.He played in Champions League against the likes of Porto and Arsenal. And then there was that unforgettable qualification game in Osasuna, as HSV dramatically booked their place in the Champions League and earned him a special place in the German club’s history. ‘One of my absolute highlights,’ says Collo, remembering the game in which he was brought on after only ten minutes for the injured central defender Vincent Kompany (now with Manchester City). Collo came on and set up the winning goal for Nigel de Jong (also now at City): ‘What a party we had man’, the friendly Namibian veteran enthused. Benjamin always gave 100 per cent on the pitch and was always polite humble off it. With the exception of the huge white Hummer vehicle he drives. ‘I always dreamt of having one’ grins Collo. If anyone deserves to have a dream come true it must be Collin Benjamin. On days that he missed making the first team squad, Collo would disappear into the bowels of the stadium after saying: ‘I am going over to my homies’. Moments later he could be seen right in the middle of the north stand at the Imtech Arena cheering the lads on. He has HSV in his heart. ‘And it will always be there,’ he said. The final farewell is going to hurt everyone involved, but the utility man wants to sign a two to three year deal, which HSV could not offer him. ‘I am still ambitious and always want to play, but not just be a squad member, but play an important role in things.’ We will all miss Collo the player, the man and of course the HSV fan. -hsv.de

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