ISASKAR ‘Bio’ Gurirab’s rapid rise from “bush football” to be the country’s foremost sharpshooter is expected to be crowned with a clean sweep of prizes at Saturday’s MTC Namibia Premiership Awards in Windhoek.
When Life Fighters plucked the prodigious talent from obscurity before the start of the 2018-19 season, little did they know that he would be the hottest property in the country eight months down the line.
The 21-year-old Omaruru native scored 22 times in just 24 matches, firing the Otjiwarongo outfit to a fifth-placed finish in their second season back in the NPL.
With the top goalscorer award already in the bag, Gurirab is also favourite for the player of the season and players’ player of the season prizes.
He had not played organised football prior to his debut top-flight campaign, making his achievement all the more remarkable.
Gurirab even missed the last four league matches as the club heeded the national selectors’ call to preserve the lethal striker for the Brave Warriors recent Cosafa Cup challenge.
A brace and assist in a 3-0 win over Seychelles in Namibia’s final group match earned him the man of the match award, and a ticket to the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
“This is a big stage for him. If they give him a chance to play, mark my words, he’ll score or create goals,” declared Life Fighters chairman Anton Kake, who went to his parents’ house in Uis, and promised them “if they give me the boy, I’ll get him in the Brave Warriors”.
Confident as he is gifted, Gurirab’s meteoric rise is not “really surprising” to Kake, who has tracked the player since age 14 when on the books of Khomas Second Division side Impala Chiefs.
Being a pupil at Petrus !Ganeb Secondary School at Uis meant he was unable to play for the Windhoek club, and a subsequent move closer to home at first division side Golden Bees from Outjo yielded no game time either.
But a starring role for Erongo at The Namibian Newspaper Cup in 2017 only reinforced Kake’s single-minded determination to clinch the promising youngster’s signature.
“We needed someone who could create goals for us. We did not expect that he will be the top scorer. We thought he would maybe score 11 or 12 goals because he is young and it was his first season. But we knew he’ll give problems to defenders,” Kake said of Gurirab’s exploits.
Gurirab is blessed with silky feet, pace and an unerring knack to see a goalscoring opportunity.
“He is a natural striker. He knows where to be, he makes good runs, and has composure.
“After one match, our coach [Agnus Elemu) came to me and said ‘that boy does not belong in Namibian football, he should be playing outside’,” said Kake.
“To be honest, at the start of the season, I did not think he would be in Dubai preparing for Afcon today. We though maybe he could make the Cosafa team. But he works hard, and is a very grounded young man. We are very proud of him.”
His penchant for unearthing gems means that Fighters have a capable replacement line-up should Gurirab move on to more lucrative leagues abroad. After all, the self-styled Jomo Sono of Namibia discovered former Brave Warriors winger Mogale Naruseb, who went on to play for Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa.
Another of his protégés is Life Fighters playmaker Kleophas Desmond Useb, who made it to the 2012 African Nations Championships with the Brave Warriors on the back of a scintillating breakthrough top-flight season.
The full nominees are:
MTC Premiership top goal scorer of the season – Isaskar Gurirab (Life Fighters FC);
MTC Premiership player of the season – Dynamo Fredericks (Black Africa FC), Isaskar Gurirab (Life Fighters FC), Wesley Katjiteo (Black Africa FC);
MTC Premiership players’ player of the season – Absalom Iimbondi (Tigers FC), Wesley Katjiteo (Black Africa FC), Isaskar Gurirab (Life Fighters FC);
MTC Premiership coach of the season – Fortune Eichab (Tura Magic FC), Paulus Shipanga (Black Africa FC), Nicholas Woody Jacobs (Unam FC);
MTC Premiership referee of the season – Jackson Pavaza (Otjozondjupa region), Jonas Shongedi (Oshana region), Nehemia Shoovaleka (Ohangwena region);
MTC Premiership assistant referee of the season – Matheus Nevonga (Hardap region), Mathew Kanyanga (Khomas region), and Eneas Shikongo (Khomas region).
