2 weeks Ago
Hotto doesn’t ‘add the sugar’ for the sake of thrilling the fans but does his job with both efficiency and commitment he has become the first player on Jose Riveiro’s team sheet. The fact that Hotto has played the most football since Riveiro took over provides the undisputable evidence of the Spaniard’s appreciation. Just this season – the Namibian who comes from the township of Mondesa, Swakopmund and easily converses in Otjiherero, Germany, Afrikaans, and English – has played every minute.
"Deon was young, raw, playful, and naïve when he got to us, but you could see the talent in him," discloses Elton Katangolo, the chairperson of Blue Boys, talking to . from Namibia. Blue Boys is the club that Hotto played for in his hometown in the seaside city of Swakopmund before moving to African Stars from where he made his way to Golden Arrows, Bloemfontein Celtic, BidVest Wits, and then Pirates.
"He (Hotto) was talented from a young age and what helped him was his athleticism and ability to make a difference whenever given a chance. "Then when we sold him to the champions (African Stars), we had our own sell-on percentage, which we got when he went to Golden Arrows. "In going to African Stars, we sold him for R80 000 which was a record transfer for us though it was paid in instalments because we also got two players from them.
"That was over 12 years ago, so it was a lot of money, and I remember signing the contract in fishing mogul and African Stars chairman Sidney Martin’s office. "Selling him to African Stars was meant to help him walk into the national team because we were being relegated. "His energy levels have never dropped though I feel he was even quicker while with us because he played as a striker before he became a winger at Stars.
"What you should know is that he has the lungs since he is a marathon runner where he has won a couple of medals. "He dropped out of school as he wasn’t the most gifted in class and his father was a bus driver, so he also became a handyman who even did groundsman work. "I like how much of a responsible father he has become now and just as I was talking to him today (Thursday) he was helping his son with homework as he has a spelling test on Friday.
"By the way, he used to score all those free kicks that he is scoring for Pirates when he was here with us," details Katangolo..
