Late Horner with some of the players he took on a European training tour
* He had an exceptional eye for spotting talent
* He was also extremely good at building youthful teams for the future
* He was also instrumental in my first games with the Malawi national team when Reuben Malola was the coach
Maravi Express
In paying tribute to Manfred Hoener, who died on Saturday, Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu says if the German had worked as technical director for a long period of time, Malawi football would have immensely benefitted from his expertise and the country’s football development would have been miles away.
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“I have lots of fond memories of Manfred Hoener,” says Nyamilandu, who was up close to the German when he was a national team player under coach, late Reuben Malola.
“He was instrumental in my first games with the Malawi national team and when we were preparing for 1998 World Cup qualifier against South Africa, he gave me sound advice.
“From time to time, he gave us good feedback on how we could perform better especially the time we spent together at Kamuzu Academy during camp training.
“He also offered me special training sessions with Chimwemwe Gadi when we were going for trials in Europe. He is probably one of the best expatriates we have had in terms of youth football technical development.”
Nyamilandu says Hoener can be described as one of the outstanding pioneers of Malawi football development as he had an exceptional eye for spotting talent and was also extremely good at building youthful teams for the future.
“Over and above that he worked very hard to expose talented players in Europe to give them a brighter future. If he had been around for long, Malawi football would have immensely benefitted from his expertise and we would have been miles away.”
Youth development expert
Hoener, who died at the age of 79 due to heart failure in his home country, worked in Malawi for eight years with much dedication to youth development programmes.
His first notable achievement was when he took the Malawi Under-18 national team on a European training tour in 1997. Their first stop was in Denmark where they won the Dana Cup and from there to Sweden where they finished third finish in the Gonthia Cup.
The same year, he led the Malawi Under-20 to a bronze medal at the Confederation of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Under-20 Youth Championship in Botswana.
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In 1998 the same squad qualified for their maiden and to-date only appearance at the 1999 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Under-20 tournament that was held in Ghana.
Before he left in 2000, he led the foundation for the Under-17 national team that went on to win the COSAFA Under-17 Championship in 2001.
FAM website quotes former Flames captain Peter Mponda, who was part of the Dana Cup winning team and captained the Under-20 in Ghana, as saying Hoener played a big role in laying the foundation for the team that qualified for AFCON 2010.
“Most of the players who played in those 2010 qualifiers like myself, Esau Kanyenda, Moses Chavula, Swadik Sanudi, Robert Ng’ambi, Jimmy Zakazaka, Fischer Kondowe, Peter Mgangira, Allan Kamanga, Dan Chitsulo and Clement Kafwafwa worked with Hoener at junior national teams as well as junior leagues between 1997 and 2000.
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“He instilled that dream and mentality that made us develop into that formidable side. He demanded a lot on the pitch while outside he was a father figure,” Mponda is quoted as saying.
Former Flames striker Dan Chitsulo wrote on his Facebook page thanking Hoener for facilitating his move to German Bundesliga side FC Cologne in 2000.
“I am really shocked. I am where I am now because of this man. All I can say is thank you Manfred,” said Chitsulo, who is still based in Germany.
Apart from nurturing youth players, he also mentored a lot of local coaches among them FAM current technical director John Kaputa.
“He was action oriented and taught us a lot on fundamentals of youth football development. He was so strict on being organized and always wanted to succeed and win,” Kaputa said.
