Former Ramblers Football Club speedy tough tackling centre back, Frederick “Tollie” van Wyk, wore the captain’s armband in the Brave Warriors’ first official match under the guidance of Zimbabwean mentor Shepherd Murape against Lesotho in an international friendly in Maseru. The Upington, Northern Cape born defender also captained both the national Under-20 and Under-23 football teams with distinction on various occasions in a flourishing football career that took him beyond the borders of his adopted land on several escapades with the Brave Warriors. At a fairly young age, Tollie was on the verge of signing a professional contract with South African Professional Soccer League (PSL) outfit D’Alberton Callies FC but the deal fell through after a deadlock between Ramblers and the Kwazulu/Natal outfit over the transfer fee. In today’s edition of Inside the Aged, the multi-talented athlete who also excelled in various sports codes such as rugby, cricket and athletics talks about his life in football and how a once promising football career came crashing down when he suffered a knee injury that essentially halted his progress – subsequently paving the way for his premature retirement from the game.
WINDHOEK – Those in the know would nod in total agreement that Tollie van Wyk was doubtlessly the most recognizable and adored local footballer shortly after Namibia’s independence in 1990.
The well-built central defender literally had the world at his feet, freely enjoying his football with one of the most exciting football outfits in the business, Ramblers FC, where he enjoyed a hero’s status under the guidance of Gary “the Lip” Sales, one of the best decorated football coaches before and post-independence.
The versatile Tollie began life in the sporting arena while still wet behind the ears as a fast as lightning fullback (rugby), wicketkeeper (cricket) mean sprinter in both the 100m and 200m and the high and triple jump (athletics). In addition, he was a highly gifted footballer who marshalled the defence with the maturity of a seasoned campaigner.
Born in Upington, South Africa on the 30th of August 1970, young Tollie’s flirtation with sports started at an early age during his informative years at the Oranje Oewer Primary School in his hometown Upington. The sports crazy boy was among a few selected young men who can be easily placed in the sacred category of having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth because everything he touched on the sports fields seemed to turn into gold.
His unmatched virtuosity in various sporting disciplines propelled him to gain top accolades in both the football and cricket codes as he was rewarded with inclusion in the Eastern Province representative teams at provincial level. Uitenhage was his next stop and it was at this particular sleepy town that Tollie first started getting involved with competitive football after joining a local team Atletico FC.
His parents relocated to South West Africa (SWA) in 1984 and settled in Windhoek. After a one-year stint with the L.J Barnes Primary School in Khomasdal, young Tollie announced his arrival in the Land of the Brave with a par excellence performance when enrolled at Ella Du Plessis High School the following year.
He found himself surrounded by young football legends in the mould of Brian Isaacs, Willem Cloete, Golla van Staden, Karel Mouton and Floris van Rooi. His presence in the heart of the Ella Du Plessis High School football team rearguard brought a new dimension to the youngsters’ game and Tollie became the toast of the football crazy fans in the Khomasdal residential area.
It was not long before Tollie and a few other highly talented footballers from around Khomasdal caught the eye of the wide-awake Bobby “Uncle Bob” Sissing, who persuaded the youngsters to join forces with the newly established Arsenal FC.
The hippy look-alike veteran football administrator sought out the best young talent on offer to strengthen the newly established Arsenal FC. Uncle Bob eventually found his man in young Tollie, who went on to form the backbone of the exciting Khomasdal outfit. He wasted little time and quickly established himself as the finest centre back in the Central Namibia Football Association (CNFA).
Such was his dominance and influence in the heart of Arsenal’s defence that any team sheet of the CNFA Invitational without his name on it would be considered incomplete. Tollie would go on to represent the CNFA Invitational team in several high profile provincial tournaments in neighbouring South Africa.
And while Namibia’s long overdue independence brought joy and comfort to a significant number of previously marginalised Namibians, it also brought agony and discomfort to some disgruntled members of Arsenal FC.
All different football associations operating under separate umbrellas, punctuated by racial discrimination catering separately for blacks, whites and coloureds were disbanded with immediate effect to make way for the newly formed Namibia Football Association (NFA).
However, the proposed new structures did not make provision for the weaker Khomasdal league to enter two teams in the topflight league – a situation that led to the amalgamation of Arsenal and Civics, leading to the majority of Arsenal’s playing personnel including the club’s chief whip Tim Isaacs crossing the floor to join forces with the Civilians.
Instead of following his team-mates and football allies, Tollie found himself in unfamiliar territory across the city as he joined the more established Ramblers FC.
“What actually transpired is that Joseph (Martin) and Stanley (Coetzee) approached me with the request to join Ramblers and since I was fascinated with the prospect of playing alongside established footballers, I could not resist the temptation simply because in those days Ramblers had assembled a very good squad laden with excellent footballers in addition to an appetizing project which I certainly wanted to be part of,” reveals Tollie.
Tollie quickly established himself as the vital cog in the heart of the Ramblers defence where he formed a telepathic combination with Dove Fransman, Mark Kutzner, Donkey Madjiet, Rudi Pahl and Rene Claasen to make Ramblers one of the most feared football entities in the country’s flagship league.
His consistent near faultless display for both club and country caught the eye of Africa’s football guru, Mark Gleeson. The much-adored beanpole football commentator/journalist recommended the tough tackling defender and his compatriot Eliphas Shivute to South African Professional League (PSL) outfit D’Alberton Callies Football Club.
As widely expected, Tollie passed the trials with flying colours but the deal fell through after the two clubs (Rambles and Callies) could not agree on financial terms.
This did not dent his ambitions to achieve greater heights and Tollie’s hard work was rewarded with a league winner medal after the Tunchell Street Boys swept aside their opponents to scoop the coveted national league title in 1992.
This commendable achievement paved the way for continental participation and it was only fitting that Tollie would lead Ramblers to an astonishing 1-all draw in the first leg of their African Club Championship against Mozambican champions Costa Da Sol at the Machava Stadium, in Maputo.
The Namibian champions were eventually eliminated from the prestigious continental club competition – courtesy of a 1-0 home defeat in the decisive return leg.
In between, Tollie would represent the Warriors with distinction in various internationals before his promising football career was abruptly abbreviated by a career-threatening knee injury while featuring for Ramblers against Okahandja-based Liverpool in a league match in Windhoek.
After a slow recovery period that lasted exactly a whole season that left him kicking his heels in frustration on the sidelines – Tollie finally returned to competitive action in the colours of Khomasdal based Young Ones FC but was unable to rediscover the kind of form that made him a household name in domestic football. He eventually called it quits in 2006 and shifted his attention to the dog-eat-dog business of coaching.
“At the time, former NFA Technical Advisor Seth Boois managed to organize a deal for Dove (Fransman) and I to undergo coaching courses in Brazil where we were taken through the ropes in the latest techniques of modern football.”
Upon his return, Tollie enjoyed a successful coaching stint with former club Ramblers steering the Pionierspark based team to victory in the lucrative NFA Windhoek Lager Cup, beating Black Africa in the final on penalties in the 2005 edition of the annual competition. He also coached top clubs such as Tigers, Black Africa and Spartans, albeit with minimal success.
Tollie still has fond memories of his playing days and rates the trio of Juku Tjazuko, Axab Gowaseb and Sandro de Gouveia as the most gifted footballers of his generation while he acknowledges former Civics and Black Africa midfield kingpin Brian Isaacs as a true genius. “Despite his seemingly fragile small frame, Brian possessed that extraordinary skill accompanied by a brilliant first touch, and he was blessed with a football brain second to none.”
By Carlos Kambaekwa