Africa-Press – Namibia. FORMER Oshakati City and Brave Warriors striker Fillemon ‘Kaskas’ Angula, born and bred at Swakopmund, was one of the most in-demand strikers in the country during his involvement with Oshakati City in the Punyu Northern First Division.
This saw him being selected and rejected by the national under-20 team.
“It was never an easy road for me to be playing in the country’s top flight since I joined Oshakati City in 1992. Teams in the Namibia Premier League were vying for my services, but I decided I had to help City gain promotion first.
“We had trials to select the under-20 side, but I was told I could not join because I didn’t have premier league experience,” he says.
Despite this the former Mweshipandeka Secondary School pupil, who returned to Namibia from exile in 1991, remained loyal to his club and his dream eventually came true in 1997 when they were promoted to the top flight.
“Winning promotion with City to the country’s top league was a dream come true for me.
“Unfortuntely I only played a season with City in the premier league before I joined Blue Waters and relocated to Walvis Bay. City didn’t honour their part of the deal, so I left,” Angula says.
He says he only discovered afterwards that PSL glamour boys Kaizer Chiefs were looking for his services, “but the City management never bothered to tell me I was wanted”.
Chiefs showed interest once again while he was with Blue Waters in 1998, and he travelled to Windhoek with the club’s former chairman, Hendrick Davids, for a planned meeting with representatives of the Soweto giants, but they travelled back to Walvis Bay the next day.
Angula says he still doesn’t know what transpired, because Davids handled the matter.
He went back to City the following year.
“I was never a player, goalkeepers as well as the defenders liked to be around their 18 area when they were defending corner kicks and free kicks against us. I could leap very high, which is something I learned during my basketball-playing days.
“Volleyball gave me perfect timing, while karate made me very brave. I couldn’t be bullied and intimidated by anyone. Football is a contact sport, and I was not someone who closed my eyes or pulled out of a tackle because of my karate instincts,” he says.
Angula also built a reputation as one of the best headers of the ball during his generation, and with him around a goal was always certain to be scored.
He played another two seasons with his beloved City before he migrated to the city in 1991, this time in the colours of Civics, with whom he has won every major cup competition available, except for the elusive league championship.
The closest he came to winning the league was with City in 2007 when they finished runners-up to Civics, but he redeemed himself by winning the coveted The Namibian Newspaper Cup, hosted by Keetmanshoop as the head coach of the Oshana region in the same year.
The Rastafarian had a colourful youth during his time in exile.
“I have learnt to become a man in the Swapo camps in Angola and Zambia. I played football with and against the soldiers who were much older than me in the camps, especially at Lubango. They really loved me there, and I was the little star of the camp.
“There we only had one meal a day, but because I had such exceptional talent I was invited by the people who had houses at the camp to eat supper with them. We also played against our brothers from the ANC, and it was so much fun.” he says.
Angula says he enjoyed playing against the army team of Zambia because they were more serious with their football and they had talented players.
They also played football in Congo (Brazzaville) where children in exile were sent to school.
The fun only intensified after Angula returned to his motherland in 1991 and he started participating against other schools from the region and later in the nationals during the Coca-Cola Schools Soccer Championships and the Caltex Cup.
WORK, FAMILY
The retired star married Lempie Mwatara-Angula in 2000 and has five children.
He currently provides for his family by running errands for the Municipality of Ondangwa.
“I don’t have a fixed job, but I rely on small tenders from businesses around Ondangwa – especially from the town council and the security companies. I am also driving trucks, and we assist the municipality with removing waste from the town
“Like with any other job I am also facing challenges, but I don’t consider them a temporary experience. I face them head-on. Also, problems are a learning curve,” he says.
The former Festus Gonteb Primary School under-9 soccer team star says he is passionate and committed to his job.
Angula, who was a great fan of King Pele, says he was also influenced by the former The Netherlands and AC Milan superstar Ruud Gullit.
A CAF C Licence football coaching bets holder, the retired striker says he does not agree with the way the Namibia Football Association and Confederation of African Football conduct their coaching courses.
“When we attend those courses we expect to be trained intensively on the ever-evolving aspects of the game. However, the instructors are only concerned about maintaining a high pass rate when it comes to written tests.
“The answers are fed to you and everybody passes, and you go back home with an empty head, but with a coaching licence,” he says.
Angula advises young footballers to take their education seriously.
“Football can be a lucrative career when you play in a professional league. It is just too short, but you can also be involved over a longer term in management or coaching.
“Our set-up is not conducive to making a sustained decent living from football. Hence, you must have an education to fall back on,” he says.
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