Starke sees a bright future in Brave Warriors team
• By Michael Uugwanga
FORMER Namibia Football Association (NFA) Technical Director Klaus Starke said the current Brave Warriors squad had what it takes to succeed and qualify for bigger tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and the World Cup.
Starke, who left the position of technical director in 2015 to venture into other projects, said that the Brave Warrior’s recent good run in the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) and AFCON round of 16 this year shows that the country is heading in the right direction.
“I am too far from the Brave Warriors to assess the team’s performance. I saw the excellent results and that the team is performing well, so attending the COSAFA finals is a big achievement. “It looks like the team is ready to achieve more and I think the is a realistic chance to qualify for the big tournaments,” said Starke.
Starke is the father to former Brave Warriors midfielder Manfred Starke and former German women’s senior national team attacker Sandra Starke, both born in Windhoek. Still, Sandra decided to play for Germany instead of the Brave Gladiators (women’s senior team).
Manfred recently signed up with the German third-division side 1860 Munich, while his sibling Sandra plays top-tier football for RB Leipzig in the Frauen-Bundesliga. Manfred has not played for the Brave Warriors for nearly four years, while Sandra has played for German U-16, U-19 and the senior team, but over the past few years the 30-year-old has not been receiving national call-ups. Sandra was approached by the NFA in 2014 to join the Brave Gladiators camp when Namibia played host to the Women Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), but she turned down the offer as her heart was set on the German national team call-up.
“In the moment I don’t have connection with Manfred. In my opinion Sandra did the right decision. She played well in the Bundesliga and was called up to the national team, I think for her a dream came true,” said Starke. Starke, currently conducting a UEFA A-License Course in Kosovo, with the course set to end by Christmas this year, also said that the NFA had decided to appoint Collin Benjamin as head coach.
Benjamin was appointed head coach in 2022 for five years. During his short tenure, he has managed to lead the Brave Warriors to two COSAFA Cup finals, 2022 and last month, plus qualification to the AFCON this year, which resulted in the Brave Warriors making its history by reaching the AFCON round of 16 for the first time.
The Brave Warriors are also on course to qualify for its first-ever FIFA World Cup qualification. Namibia is second in group H on eight points, two points behind group leader Tunisia with 10 points.
“To call up Collin as the head coach of the Brave Warriors was a good idea, a coach with a high level of experience in football. He is doing well. The results speak for themselves,” said Starke.