Africa-Press – Namibia. Maleagi ‘Marley’ Ngarizemo rose from Gobabis footballer to Brave Warriors defender, later becoming Young African founder, coach and club owner.
The Gobabis-born and raised former central defender, who made history by being selected for the senior national team without featuring for any of the junior national teams before, is also one of the few players who got called up straight from the first division.
“Former late Brave Warriors coach Ted Dumitru spotted while I was still a first-division prodigy with Gobabis outfit My Dae Chiefs. We were playing in an Easter soccer tournament at Mariental when he sent someone to me to find out how old I was,” Ngarizemo says.
“He had ample time to see me, because we went on to play two more matches after which we eventually won the tournament. We hardly arrived back home when I was notified by my then-coach Rudolf Bohitile that I was called up to the senior national team.”
“I started training with the national team that week. I must say that training was a little intense, something I never experienced before, but the drills were also top draw. Dumitru had a wealth of experience,” he says.
“He allowed his players to express themselves with the ball. He was not a stereotypical European coach. As fate would have it, I received my debut with the national team that same week after Mohammed got injured against Morocco in Marrakech.”
It was indeed a baptism of fire for the former midfielder-turned-central defender.
Maleagi ‘Marley’ Ngarizemo was an influential central defender with African Stars during his heyday. Photo: Contributed
Ngarizemo, who was known for his composure on the ball and build-ups from the back, went on to turn out for the Brave Warriors on many more occasions, including during the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana, World Cup and Afcon qualifiers and in the Cosafa Cup.
Some of the tough opponents he played against were Egypt, Morocco, Zambia and Botswana, while he also played against other countries like Chad.
The former defender started playing formal football at the age of nine for the school team of Gobabis Primary School before he moved on to Epako Secondary School where he played for the school team as well as for his hostel team Indian Swallows.
Ngarizemo joined African Stars shortly after his return from Namibia’s World Cup qualifier against Morocco in 2007 – but not without some drama.
“I actually came to Windhoek from Gobabis to sign up with the Oscar Mengo-led Liverpool. I even went to Mengo’s workplace at NBC Radio, but I don’t know how the people of Stars, who were actually my preferred choice, hijacked Liverpool’s deal,” he says.
“Before I could close my eyes and open them again, I ended up at Stars former chairman Mbakuma Hengari’s office, where I was made to sign on the dotted line for the Samba Boys. We had very good moments at Stars winning the coveted NFA Cup,” he says.
Ngarizemo was named NFA Cup Player of the Tournament that year.
The former star, who also won player of the tournament during the inaugural Namibian Newspaper Cup with the Omaheke region, netted the opening goal in the final with the former high-flying winger Mogale Naruseb, scoring the second for a 2-1 win.
Ngarizemo also had stints in South Africa with first-division outfit FC Cape Town and with Black Leopards.
Young African owner Maleagi ‘Marley’ Ngarizemo (right) seen with legendary South African football great Ephraim ‘Jomo’ Sono, owner of Jomo Cosmos. Photo: Contributed
The former Desert Rollers Star went to Canada where he played for a club called North York Shooters, but finally quit playing in 2011.
Ngarizemo’s only regret is not playing proper football overseas.
He says he is grateful for everything he has today.
WORK, FAMILY
The retired star is currently engaged to his longtime girlfriend and has six children.
Ngarizemo, who had the honour to captain the Brave Warriors during the Cosafa Cup in Botswana in 2007, founded Young African Football Club in 2013.
“Honestly speaking, I was very much attached to African Stars, and it was only a given that I would maintain those memories by calling my own club Young African.
“I brought my leadership skills to the fore while I was still part of the playing staff at Stars,” he says.
“It was never an easy task to build this club to the league championship-challenging outfit it is today. I started by first winning the second division, then the first division to gain promotion, but there were a lot of obstacles to finally become the Young African of today.”
Young African were runners-up in the league, as well as the inaugural Debmarine Cup, and they are currently preparing to participate in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup, where they are pitted against Royal Leopards of Eswatini in the opening round.
The first leg will be played in Francistown in Botswana, because of the stance of CAF that no stadia in Namibia are qualified to host matches of that magnitude, with the return leg scheduled for Eswatini.
Ngarizemo advises young players to set goals for themselves over the course of three years, “because if they can dedicate themselves fully to the game and stay committed to their dreams, they can go far,” he says.
“But stay away from girls and alcohol.”
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
