Congo Hindjou: Class of '98 legend still shaping football

Former Liverpool and Civics midfield playmaker Johannes 'Congo' Hindjou remains one of the most recognisable faces of the legendary Brave Warriors Class of '98. "As a former player, I always want to impress people.

I wanted people to always talk about the young player from Okahandja who gave his all on the pitch. I was someone who earned the jersey of whichever team I played for.

I was not a selective performer. I always impacted a game with my straightforward approach," he says.

Hindjou says he has always taken football seriously - right from his earlier playing days as a striker for his school team, before he was permanently converted into the midfield playmaker position at Liverpool. "I am a product of Nau-aib township at Okahandja.

While today's players attend football academies where they train on grass, we played on gravel," he says. "I'm actually a very poor loser, that is why I always tried to make a plan to help my team win matches.

Born at Otjombali village, Hindjou says his football career only took off after he went to Henadawa Primary School, now renamed to Nau-Aib Primary School, where he played for the under-9 and under-11 sides. Hindjou also played for his suburban team Kaizer Chiefs, where he enjoyed his role as striker before he was snatched up by Morokko City Stars, who played in the lower leagues.

The former midfield maestro also had spells with Young Stars and Golden Arrows. I must have been doing something right at my young age, because I was only a 17-year-old pupil at Okahandja Secondary School when Liverpool came knocking," he says.

"The exposure I received by playing in a star-studded Liverpool side, which was a serious contender for the major cups, opened doors for the junior national teams." Hindjou was part of the Namibian under side that toured Westphalia in Germany, only to end up at the Helsinki Cup in Finland together with the likes of Jerry Zimmer, Geoffrey Roman, Gerson Kooper, Ruben van Wyk and Thiro Thlabanello. He says that same team went on to represent Namibia at the Cosafa Under-20 Championships in Lesotho and finished in a respectable fourth place overall.

Hindjou was still a teenager when he was called up to the senior national team, the Brave Warriors.