Heribert Kapeng – goalie with a lion’s heart

Goalkeeping is a specialised position which requires height, bravery and agility.

Former Civics and Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Heribert ‘Shot-Stopper’ Kapeng had only two of these qualities, but still went on to be recognised as one of the best goalkeepers in Namibia.

Despite lacking in height, which cost him a possible professional move to Uruguay, Kapeng also represented Namibia at all junior levels.

“I can’t deny the fact that I was shorter than the average goalie in the country. However, what I lacked in height I made up with bravery and agility,” he says.

Kapeng says he only started playing organised football at high school level.

“I was already 16 years old when I started playing for the Mokganeti Thlababello High School football team at Drimiopsis in the Omaheke region,” he says.

“I am actually fortunate that I started playing goalkeeper at that age. That is why I developed such good qualities for a goalkeeper, despite being on the shorter side.”

Kapeng represented his school in the coveted Coca-Cola Cup for high schools.

“I first joined Golden Stars, who were playing in the second division, before I moved to first division outfit Desert Rollers, who are both based at Gobabis,” he says.

Kapeng eventually ended up at Orlando Pirates in the Namibian Premier League, where he was an understudy for the first-choice goalkeeper at the time.

He was convinced by coach Ali Akan to join him at Civics, where he enjoyed the most successful spell of his career.

“Joining Civics was the best football decision I’ve ever made. I became the first choice under Akan, and my time there brought me much success as a player,” he says.

“I won three league titles, and even after coach Akhan left, I still remained number one under coaches Woody Jacobs and Seun Stuurman, and even won the Namibia Football Association Cup.”

Kapeng then joined SKW, where he won the player of the season twice with the premiership outfit, which he also led to an NFA Cup final.

Former Orlando Pirates ambitious boss Hendrick Davids recalled him to the Katutura Sea Robbers, where he added another NFA Cup before he finally retired from playing.

But the goalie also enjoyed a spell with the national under-17, under-20 and under-23 teams, which subsequently led to a non-playing call-up to the Brave Warriors.

“I played in the Cosafa Cup with both the under-17 and under-20 teams, where my teammates were midfield maestro Congo Hindjou and livewire Paulus Shipanga.

“It was during the Under-20 Cosafa Cup in Johannesburg that I got introduced to the mesmerising former Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana superstar Jabu Pule,” he says.

Kapeng participated in the Helsinki Cup in Finland with the under-17 side, while he also enjoyed his time with the same team in the Gothia Cup in Sweden under coach Gabriel Freyer.

His time with the under-23s was under coach Herman Katjiuonga, and they engaged with Lesotho and Nigeria – both in Namibia.

Kapeng was called up to the Brave Warriors twice under coach Tom Sainfeit during matches against Nigeria and Zimbabwe, with Virgil Vries being the first-choice goalkeeper.

WORK, FAMILY

Kapeng married his wife, Michaella, in 2015, and has five children.

He is employed as an NFA registration officer.

“I’m in charge of the E-Connect system, also known as Fifa-Connect, which is a programme or system designed by Fifa to register all the NFA structures’ players.”

He says although the system works well for the premier league, more training has to be done regarding teams operating in the lower divisions, especially in rural areas.

The former Pirates star, who also works as a goalkeeper coach, says he is currently taking a break from these duties to focus on the E-Connect system.

“We’ve been experiencing a lot of problems with the registration of players, and I’ve decided to relieve myself from coaching to focus on the system,” he says.

“So far I’ve been coaching the goalkeepers of Orlando Pirates, the Namibian Police and Tigers in the premier league. I’ve also coached at national team level,” he says.

Kapeng has also coached the under-17 team goalies during a World Cup qualifier against South Africa.

“Apart from coaching the Brave Gladiators’ goalkeepers during at least three Cosafa Cups, I’ve also coached them during the Women’s Championships in Windhoek.

“I’ve also coached the Brave Gladiators goaltenders during an international friendly tournament Namibia was invited to in Spain.

“I’ve coached the Brave Warriors’ keepers during the Hage Geingob Cup against Senegal.”

His advice to aspiring goalkeepers is to constantly work on their technique.

“. . . how to catch the ball and how you dive,” he says.

“They must also practice how to deal with the crosses. After improving technique, the tactical side will be much easier.

“Goalies must be physically fit. Actually, they must be fitter than the infield players.”

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