Itamunua Keimuine

{{Infobox football biography

|name = Itamunua Keimuine

|image =

|fullname = Itamunua Maverinjono Keimuine

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|5|1|df=y}}

|birth_place = Windhoek, Namibia

|height = 1.69 m

|position = Midfielder

|currentclub = Dire Dawa City

|clubnumber =

|years1 = 2012–2018

|clubs1 = Tura Magic

|years2 = 2018–

|clubs2 = Dire Dawa City

|nationalyears1 = 2012–13

|nationalteam1 = Namibia U20

|nationalyears2 = 2014–

|nationalteam2 = Namibia

|nationalcaps2 = 29

|nationalgoals2 = 1

|pcupdate =

|ntupdate = 16:30, 23 June 2019 (UTC)

}}

Itamunua Maverinjono Keimuine (born 1 May 1993) is a Namibian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Dire Dawa City in the Ethiopian Premier League and for the Namibia national football team.

Club career

Keimuine started his career at Tura Magic, and in 2012–13 season helped them in an important relegation battle by scoring in a 3–1 win against Mighty Gunners.{{cite news |last1=Schultz |first1=Helge |title=BA regain 6-point lead |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/106064/archive-read/BA-regain-6-point-lead--BLACK-Africa-regained |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=11 March 2013}} He helped Magic to a strong third place finish in the 2013–14 and 2015–16 seasons.{{cite news |title=Rebels relegated to First Division |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/136498/archive-read/Rebels-relegated-to-First-Division-WINDHOEK-- |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=1 May 2014 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104828/https://www.namibian.com.na/136498/archive-read/Rebels-relegated-to-First-Division-WINDHOEK-- |url-status=dead }}

On 30 September 2018, he joined Ethiopian side Dire Dawa City, thus becoming the first Namibian player to play in Ethiopia.{{cite news |last1=Uugwanga |first1=Michael |title=Keimuine enjoying life in Ethiopia |url=https://www.observer.com.na/index.php/sports/item/10855-keimuine-enjoying-life-in-ethiopia |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=Windhoek Observer |date=1 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424035423/https://www.observer.com.na/index.php/sports/item/10855-keimuine-enjoying-life-in-ethiopia |archive-date=24 April 2019 |url-status=dead }}

International career

Keimuine was called up for the Namibia U20's for the 2013 African U-20 Championship qualification, but were knocked out in the preliminary round, after losing 4–1 on aggregate to Rwanda.{{cite news |title=Under-20s depart for Rwanda Clash |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/94664/archive-read/Under-20s-depart-for-Rwanda-Clash-NAMIBIAS |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=2 May 2012 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104831/https://www.namibian.com.na/94664/archive-read/Under-20s-depart-for-Rwanda-Clash-NAMIBIAS |url-status=dead }} He subsequently became a regular in the squad and played in the FESA Cup in Angola.{{cite news |title=Under-20s on Angolan mission |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/101093/archive-read/Under-20s-on-Angolan-mission-WINDHOEK-- |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=12 October 2012 |location=Windhoek}}

On 1 September 2014, Keimuine got his first national callup after he was named in Namibia's 23-man squad by coach Ricardo Mannetti, for a friendly against Swaziland.{{cite news |title='Be active to play for Warriors' - Mannetti |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/127454/archive-read/%E2%80%98Be-active-to-play-for-Warriors%E2%80%99---Mannetti |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=1 September 2014 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104833/https://www.namibian.com.na/127454/archive-read/%E2%80%98Be-active-to-play-for-Warriors%E2%80%99---Mannetti |url-status=dead }} The game ended in a 1–1 draw.{{cite news |title=Ten-man Warriors draw with Swaziland |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/127881/archive-read/Ten-man-Warriors-draw-with-Swaziland-Winger-Deon |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=11 September 2014 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104836/https://www.namibian.com.na/127881/archive-read/Ten-man-Warriors-draw-with-Swaziland-Winger-Deon |url-status=dead }} In May 2015, Keimuine was part of the Namibian squad which won the 2015 COSAFA Cup.{{cite news |title=Namibia are Cosafa Cup champions |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/137525/archive-read/Namibia-are-Cosafa-Cup-champions-Namibia-have |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=30 May 2015 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104839/https://www.namibian.com.na/137525/archive-read/Namibia-are-Cosafa-Cup-champions-Namibia-have |url-status=dead }} On 21 June 2016, he scored his first ever international goal in a 3–0 win against Mozambique in the 2016 COSAFA Cup.{{cite news |title=Mozambique succumb to a 3-0 loss against Namibia |url=https://africanfootball.com/match-report/38523/Namibia-vs-Mozambique |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=Africa Football |date=21 June 2016 |archive-date=4 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704141655/http://africanfootball.com/match-report/38523/Namibia-vs-Mozambique |url-status=dead }} On 3 January 2019, he was named in Namibia's 23-man squad for the 2018 CHAN finals in Morocco.{{cite news |title=Namibia selects Chan squad |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/173008/archive-read/Namibia-selects-Chan-squad-Brave-Warriors-head |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=21 June 2016 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104842/https://www.namibian.com.na/173008/archive-read/Namibia-selects-Chan-squad-Brave-Warriors-head |url-status=dead }} Namibia defeated Ivory Coast, Uganda and drew against Zambia to finish second in the group behind Zambia, and qualified for the next round. They were knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-finals by hosts and eventual champions Morocco.{{cite news |title=Namibia lose to Morocco |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/173826/archive-read/Namibia-lose-to-Morocco-NAMIBIA%26ampamp39s |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=The Namibian |date=27 January 2018 |archive-date=10 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104844/https://www.namibian.com.na/173826/archive-read/Namibia-lose-to-Morocco-NAMIBIA%26ampamp39s |url-status=dead }}

On 23 May 2019, Keimuine was named in Namibia's 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.{{cite news |title=Namibia's AFCON squad boosted by the inclusion of Germany, UK based players |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/23/c_138083678.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903160511/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/23/c_138083678.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 3, 2019 |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=Xinhua News Agency |date=23 May 2019}} In Namibia's opening match against Morocco, he finished Hakim Ziyech’s well-placed cross past his own goalkeeper just 10 minutes after coming on, thus scoring an own goal.{{cite news |last1=Salama |first1=Mohamed |title=Itamunua Keimuine’s late own goal seals a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Morocco against Namibia |url=https://www.kingfut.com/2019/06/23/marnam1/ |accessdate=25 June 2019 |agency=KingFut |date=23 June 2019}}