Fadiga is best for Spurs

BRAVE Warriors and Hotspurs striker Edward ‘Fadiga’ Asino was named the Player of the Season by his club and also scooped the Top Goalscorer award on Friday night.

The striker, who has a natural instinct to find the net, was one of the most underrated goal-getters in the league, but last season proved his critics wrong by ensuring an eighth-place finish in the league in their first season in top flight football.Asino also got the nod to the national team the past season under coach Tom Saintfiet and already made an impact on that level and will surely form part of the core side in their future matches.He told his team mates after receiving the awards that if it was not for them, he could not have scored so many goals and would not have ended up as the best player for the side.’These awards are for all of us. You guys (players) have made it possible for me to score goals and it was truly a team effort. So, I am thankful that were all part of my success tonight and I hope that we will even become a stronger team next season. I also wish to thank the management for having so much confidence in me and seeing my potential to give me these prestigious awards,” he said.Asino is among the top strikers in the country and his knack for goals, all-round control and dribbling skills have already attracted interest from other premiership sides.But the Spurs management has turned them all down and considers Asino as their best weapon to keep them in contention in the league.OTHER AWARDSThe Hotspurs management, the third side in the league to award its players this season after Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) and Black Africa, also gave certificates to all their players for their dedication, commitment and discipline throughout their first season in the league.They named midfielder Stanley Newman as the Most Improved Player, while their first-choice goalkeeper, Tommy Shilumbu, got the Most Valuable Player of the Season award.Defender Peka Hamukwaya received the Team Player of the Season award, which he says was a tribute to all his team mates who helped him to achieve that.Some of the ardent supporters, including coach Willem Kapukare, his assistant, Papi Komane, and team manager Patrick Ileka were also recognised through special awards for their contribution to the team.Kapukare said when he arrived at Spurs in April this year, he saw a great deal of potential in the team because they were impressive in the way they played.’At that point, they were 11th in the league. I saw some flaws here and there, but I knew that they were trainable. I decided to help them and use all my football knowledge to keep in the league. We managed to end up eighth at the end of the season and that was all due to the hard work and commitment they showed. I am also thankful for all the co-operation I got from my assistant Papi and my team manager Patrick. We worked as a team and we managed to get important results that today see us as one of the most competitive teams in the league,” said Kapukare.The club is currently operating with a skeleton staff and is in dire need of sponsorship.Ileka said they will have a meeting soon where they will seek to appoint a fully representative executive committee.’We want to have a proper structure in place and at the same time we would like to ask for potential sponsors to support this team financially because we have a lot of potential and just need some backing,’ he said.He added that they intend to take the team to greater heights next season and are now aiming at finishing fourth, while they will be looking at winning the championship title in 2011.Hotspurs were promoted to the league alongside Mighty Gunners last season. Gunners found their way back to the first division after a poor spell of results overall. corry@namibian.com.na