Collin Benjamin

Collin Benjamin (born 3 August 1978) is a Namibian professional football coach and a former player who played as a midfielder. He is the head coach of the Namibia national football team. He spent most of his professional career with Hamburger SV while representing Namibia at international level.^[2]

Collin Benjamin

Benjamin at practice with 1860 Munich in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1978-08-03) 3 August 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth	Windhoek, Namibia
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Namibia (head coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1999	Civics Windhoek
1999	TuS Germania Schnelsen	9	(3)
2000	FC Elmshorn 1920	28	(4)
2001–2011	Hamburger SV	146	(13)
2011–2012	1860 Munich	18	(0)
International career
1999–2012	Namibia	32	(2)
Managerial career
2018–2021	Namibia (assistant)
2022–	Namibia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Benjamin represented Namibia at the 2008 African Cup of Nations, earning 32 caps; he captained the team for several years. Benjamin was known for his speed and was mainly used for wing play as a defender.

He was named as the head coach of the Namibia national team in June 2022, succeeding Bobby Samaria.^[3]Shina Oludare (15 June 2022). "Collin Benjamin: Ex- Hamburger SV defender named as new Namibia coach". Goal.com. Retrieved 2 January 2024.

After his 10 years at Hamburg Benjamin ended his playing career in Germany at 1860 Munich, where he then spent time in the club's coaching set-up.

Benjamin, who won 41 caps for Namibia and captained his country, said he was up to the "daunting" challenge of coaching the Brave Warriors - but would require "resources to accomplish the task ahead" of him.

Namibia began their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a 1–1 draw against Burundi in neutral Johannesburg earlier in June 2022.

In 2024, Benjamin led Namibia Brave warriors to its first victory record and reaching round of 16 after 26 years in the AFCON 2023 Cup of Nation in the Ivory Coast.^[4]

Honours

• DFB-Ligapokal winner: 2003

Aside from representing Hamburg and 1860 Munich during his active days, Benjamin remains the only Namibian to play in the Uefa Champions League.

Managerial statistics

As of 24 March 2025

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Namibia	14 June 2022	Present	35	9	14	12	25	35	−10	025.71

Note: win or lose by penalty shoot-out is counted as the draw in time.