They say dynamite comes in small packages, and former Chief Santos, African Stars and national team no-nonsense defender Steven Tjenao is living proof of this.
Born at Ongongoro village at Okakarara, the retired defender who started playing organised football for the Coblenz Primary School under-10 team at the age of eight, is also the only player from that area to have played for the Brave Warriors.
Tjenao has won two Namibian Premier League (NPL) titles and three Windhoek Lager NFA Cup trophies, all with former northern giants Santos.
“I thank my mom for moving to Tsumeb, where I went to Otjikoto Secondary School. I first started playing for Benfica, but I was initially deployed on the right wing, because the rightback they had at the time was settled,” he says.
“I guess Benfica trusted me to deploy me upfront, because I was very fast and I had a very powerful shot. But I only stayed at Benfica for one season before I moved to crosstown rivals Santos. It was always my dream to play in the premier league.”
Tjenao says he never thought he would develop into one of the finest rightbacks in the country, more so because he faced a battle to wrestle that position from Santos former trusted back Lilongeni Tjezurura.
“Santos was an amazing team. The love that prevailed among the players was unmatched, and those guys played their socks off for that badge. For me it was initially about playing in the top league in the country after a season in the first division with Benfica,” he says.
“I couldn’t believe I became a league champion, but I could feel the group was capable of sending shock waves through Namibia by winning cups.”
The former winger says he was equally surprised that they became a dominant force in local cup competitions by proceeding to win the NFA Cup for three consecutive seasons.
“The team was full of national team players, and playing for the country, whether at senior or junior level, really brought the much-needed competitiveness to the team. Playing at the highest level against experienced and powerful nations was invaluable,” he says.
Tjenao briefly joined African Stars, the team that made his father, Zeb Tjitemisa, famous as a devastating winger in the 70s.
Tjenao only stayed with Stars for one season before retreating to Tsumeb after his beloved Santos were relegated to the first division, only to help them return to the premiership the following season.
Unfortunately, Santos got relegated again at the end of that season, and he decided to return to Windhoek once again.
This time he played for the Monitronics Success College football team, which was campaigning in the first division at the time.
Meanwhile, Tjenao holds the distinction of being the first player who invited himself to the under-17 national team trials.
“I don’t really understand what I was thinking at the time, but my other two Santos teammates, Jenoh [Gamseb] and Kennedy [Subeb], were already part of the set-up, and I just decided to come along without a formal invitation by the Namibia Football Association,” he says.
‘TOO GOOD’ TO BE AT SCHOOL
“I conducted myself very well during the training camp, and I was really dishing out those trademark hard tackles during team practice matches. Some members of the technical team even doubted my age by even claiming I was not a pupil.”
Tjenao says he was asked to call Otjikoto Secondary School’s head of sport, Lance Hauuanga, to convince his doubters that he was indeed a pupil at the school, matching the required age.
The Chief Santos 2002 Player of the Season became an integral part of the under-17 team until he was promoted to the under-20 side, where he first played under veteran coach Gabriel Freyer and later under former Black Africa free-scoring striker Smithley ‘Chaklas’ Engelbrecht.
“I was later also called up to the under-23 side, but, despite my exceptional form at club level with Santos, I could not play my way into the star-studded Olympic Team,” he says.
“Ironically enough, I received my first senior national team call-up by the heralded late Romanian coach Ted Dumitru in 2002. I went on to win a few caps for the Brave Warriors while I made my debut during a 1-0 loss to Mauritius in the Cosafa Cup.”
Tjenao, who was competing for the right-back position against Gerry Keister of Black Africa, only played four matches for Namibia, while his last match came during a resounding 3-1 victory over Lesotho during an international friendly.
Apart from playing football, Tjenao also tried his luck at boxing, but his journey ended when he was dealt a devastating blow to the mouth.
He was also the leader and conductor of the Oruuano Church Choir at Tsumeb.
The retired star enjoyed a good ride with the Otjikoto region in 1997, which was spoiled by a defeat by Omaheke in the final of the Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup.
Despite a satisfactory journey on the football pitch, the former pacy defender regrets the fact that he didn’t put the same amount of energy into his schoolwork as into his football.
Now a father of two, Tjenao has been a heavy duty truck driver, transporting goods between Namibia and South Africa for 13 years.
He advises young players to always be fit, punctual and competitive.
“Make sure if you get the chance to play, you keep it. Don’t allow anyone to take it away from you. Believe in your abilities and always have confidence in yourself.”
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