South African football coach (1944?2023)
Clive William Barker
(23 June 1944 ? 10 June 2023) was a South African
football
coach
. He guided the
South Africa national team
to their only
African Nations Cup
title in 1996. He was uncle of
Steve Barker
.
Playing career
[
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]
Barker was born in
Durban
,
KwaZulu-Natal
. He became a professional footballer in the 1960s, playing for
Durban City
and
Durban United
having made his debut at the age of 17. He had a trial with
Leicester City
, but a serious knee injury quickly ended his career.
[1]
Managerial career
[
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]
"The Dog", as he is nicknamed, became a manager in the 1970s, coaching numerous clubs in South Africa, including
Durban City
,
Manning Rangers
,
AmaZulu (Zulu Royals)
and
Santos Cape Town
.
[2]
During his club career he won two league championships and two league cups. He was one of the first white managers of a black team in the South African league.
[1]
Barker took over as manager of the
South Africa national team
in 1994 after the team was reinstated after a ban due to apartheid.
[3]
He took the South Africa national team to their only
African Nations Cup
title in 1996, with a 2?0 victory in the final against
Tunisia
. Under his guidance South Africa qualified for the
1998 FIFA World Cup
, their first World Cup.
[3]
He quit in December 1997, before the team could compete in the World Cup finals, after a poor showing at the
1997 FIFA Confederations Cup
.
[4]
Barker was a local television commentator during the
2010 FIFA World Cup
.
[5]
Barker was appointed manager of
Bidvest Wits
in January 2013.
[6]
Personal life and death
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]
Barker's son,
John Barker
, is a South African filmmaker.
[7]
Barker's nephew
Steve Barker
followed in Clive's footsteps as a soccer manager.
[8]
Barker was diagnosed with
Lewy body dementia
in 2023.
[7]
He died in Durban on 10 June 2023, at the age of 78.
[9]
[10]
[11]
References
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]