‘Whatever he touched turned to gold’- Bafana legends pay tribute to Clive Barker

Bafana Bafana AFCON winning coach, Clive Barker has been hailed as a ‘one-of-a-kind’ manager and person following his passing over the weekend.

Barker was in charge of South Africa in their sole AFCON triumph in 1996 and died on Saturday after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia.

Speaking to renowned broadcaster, Robert Marawa on #MSW, Barker’s son, John paid tribute to his father both as a coach and a dad.

He was always so positive and a coach right until the end, trying to get everyone to be the best version of themselves they can be. Even the doctors and nurses said how pleasant and kind he was until the end.

John Barker, Son of former Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker

Mark Williams, who scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Tunisia in the 1996 AFCON final recalled the lead up to that game and the relationship he had with the coach.

On game day I was told I was not starting and there was a bit of disappointment but I knew he had his reasons. The spirit that day was amazing from the team bus to the fans in the stadium.

Mark Williams, Former Bafana Bafana Striker

AFCON winning goalkeeper, Andre Arendse said that Barker was more than a coach.

If there was a coaching course that focused on the human being, the character, Clive Barker would have written the manual on that. We never spoke at length about tactics, we spoke about players and people.

Andre Arendse, Former Bafana Bafana Goalkeeper

He knew how to get the team going and the fans and players would feed off that. He knew his players inside out and it wasn’t just a case of him assembling a bunch of players and hoping for the best, he knew what he was doing all the time. He always got it spot on with us.

Andre Arendse, Former Bafana Bafana Goalkeeper

Legendary Bafana captain, Neil Tovey, who lifted the AFCON trophy hailed Barker as a player’s coach.

We often saw each other in public and we always reflected on the good times we had together. All the players were always very happy in camp. Clive took all the punches and that was because he was a player’s coach and he always took the punishment on our behalf.

Neil Tovey, Former Bafana Bafana Captain

He would stand by us always and it was a big injustice he didn’t take the team to the world cup in 1998.

Neil Tovey, Former Bafana Bafana Captain

The funeral service will take place on Thursday 15 June.

Watch below for the full tribute to Clive Barker:

This article first appeared on 947 : ‘Whatever he touched turned to gold’- Bafana legends pay tribute to Clive Barker