In the hot seat with Danzyl Bruwer

LIMBA MUPETAMI

WINDHOEK



Fans were entertained with stories of former Brave Warriors goalkeeper Danzyl Bruwer's heydays on Facebook Live last Sunday.

A moment he narrated is one the team will always be remembered for: The Warriors' 3-2 extra time win against South Africa in their first ever meeting at the 1998 Cosafa Cup.

“We were trailing 2-1. I was on the bench and people started leaving the stadium. We got a free-kick, which Bimbo Tjihero took. He blasted it home just a minute from the end to make the score 2-2,” Bruwer said.

The decisive moment came in the 100th minute when Johannes 'Congo' Hindjou dazzled Bafana's defence with some fast footwork and his cross was met by Berlin Auchumeb, who sent the home crowd into delirium.



'Heavy match'

“This game was a campaign en route to the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso. It was a heavy match. The then Namibia Football Association (NFA) president, Ims Namaseb, had to call in a psychologist to prepare us for the match because these were our idols, we only saw these guys on TV.

“To this day, I have great respect for Namaseb, he always delivered for us,” Bruwer narrated.

The 43-year-old former goalkeeper also spoke of the time the 'Class of 98' were accused of holding the then leaders of the NFA hostage with financial negotiations ahead of their two-legged clash with Angola in 1999.

They were fired soon after the first match during Petrus Damaseb's tenure.



Contract drama

Bruwer said they had signed contracts stating that they would each receive N$20 000 - N$10 000 for the appearance and training, and the rest if they won the cup.

“But that soon after the contract was signed, Namcor Diamonds came on board with a proposal to give the players an extra N$5 000 bonus if we won the cup.”

According to him, the NFA leaders backtracked and restructured the contract to cut N$5 000 from the initial deal.

Bruwer said the players refused to entertain this and told the football heads to return the money to the diamond company.

“They then said we were holding them ransom,” he said.

“That was not the case. We were not rebels, we stood for the truth.”



Abandoned at airport

Bruwer narrated how they refused the new deal. “They had no choice but to add the bonus.”

The team ended up losing 1-0 in Angola.

“We told ourselves that we need to go out and play our hearts out at home in the second leg to make the nation proud.

“But while we were still in Luanda, we heard stories that another team was called up for camp. When we returned to Namibia, there was no one to pick us up at the airport. We hiked back,” he revealed.

“People never found out what happened. We tried as much as possible to bring forth the truth, but no avail.”



Regrets and lessons

Bruwer played for Namibia from 1996 to 2003, and at club level, he plied his trade for Civics, Avendale Athletico, Bidvest Wits and Ajax. “Playing for Ajax was a great opportunity,” he said, but admitted that he made “a few mistakes”. In December 2008, Bruwer tested positive for the use of an illegal substance.

He did not return to the club and instead remained in Namibia, which led to the club terminating his contract two years early.

“That brought great shame on myself as well as my family, but today I'm in a much better space and I can talk about it, hoping to help young players who might be in the same boat.”



Set aside differences

Bruwer implored local footballer leaders to set their differences aside for the sake of the players.

“Please try and get together, let's get back to the playing field,” he pleaded.