Throwback Thursday: Robert Nauseb

Posted: 3 May 2018 Time: 17:30

Ex-Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Robert Nauseb will forever be grateful to former Amakhosi technical director Stanley “Screamer” Tshabalala for bringing him to South Africa in 1997.

The 44-year-old joined Chiefs from Civics in his homeland Namibia ahead of the 1997/98 season and went onto win the Rothmans Cup and Bobsave Super Bowl before leaving to join Hellenic in 2001.

“The move [to Chiefs] came about when I started to play for the Namibian national team and ‘Screamer’ at the time was at Chiefs,” Nauseb tells KickOff.com.

“We were playing against Bafana Bafana in 1998 in Windhoek and Screamer also previously came to watch, I think it was against Kenya and against Ivory Coast. And against Bafana he then made up his mind to sign me.”

After playing for Hellenic, the hard-working midfielder signed for Ajax Cape Town in 2002.

Nauseb, who highest pay cheque was R25 000, scored the biggest goal of his career for Ajax in the last game of the 2002/03 season against Mamelodi Sundowns, to help the Urban Warriors avoid relegation.

Ajax finished in 13th place on 33 points, just two ahead of 15th placed Bush Bucks, who were relegated along with bottom of the table African Wanderers.

“One of the biggest games I’ll never forget was when Ajax Cape Town was fighting for relegation,” he says.

“Our last game was against Mamelodi Sundowns and we only needed a draw. It was my first season at the club and I think Gordon Igesund was still the coach and we were fighting relegation.

“We only needed a draw and you know as the captain of the club it was the toughest game because if we lost the game the academy was going to be closed, that’s number one.

“Number two, while Ajax were not going to have an academy, a lot of kids who were looking up to us would be doomed.

“Most of the boys from the academy playing now are Gwanwald Scott, Sameehg Doutie. All those boys were still at the academy those years.

“So I just picked up the ball in the middle of the field and I started to play one-two and I played the ball to Brett Evans on the left. The only thing that came to mind was just go straight to the box and I just ran straight to the box and Sundowns were leading us 1-0 and I scored an equalising goal and we drew the game.

“I tell you what, that was the biggest game for me personally. It saved the club, saved the lives of the academy players.”

Currently Nauseb, who has CAF B coaching license and is planning to to do a CAF A, is coaching at Sacred Heart High School in Observatory, Johannesburg.

“I just started a month ago and they just started an academy there,” Nauseb reveals.

“I’m training the under-15s. Before that I coached at Euro Soccer, a soccer school based in Edenvale.

“There I got experience of coaching of three year olds, five year olds, and that’s where I started my coaching.

“Then I went back to Cape Town where I got the job at FC Cape Town and I spent almost two seasons and I was assistant coach to David “Major” Bright.

“I was also an assistant coach to Craig Rosslee before my family relocated to Joburg.”

Throwback Thursday - Sipho Sephadi

Throwback Thursday: Mark Davies

Throwback Thursday - Peter Matshitse

Throwback Thursday - Lucas Tlhomelang

Throwback Thursday - Sandile Ndlovu

Throwback Thursday - James Mothibi

Throwback Thursday - Coxwell Ratshivhadelo