South Africa: Moving Tributes At Barker's Emotional Special Provincial Funeral

16 June 2023
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Michael Madyira

The South African football family was united in celebrating the remarkable life of former Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker.

Barker, aged 78, succumbed to Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) in a Durban hospital on 10 June.

Former footballers, fans, family and friends gathered at Olive Convention Center on Thursday to pay their final respects to the legendary coach.

He remains Bafana's most successful coach after guiding the team to their first and only Africa Cup of Nations title in 1996.

In what was a historical stint at the helm of the national team, Barker also helped Bafana to qualify for the 1998 Fifa World Cup, their first-ever ticket to the global football showpiece.

His son John and South African legend Doctor Khumalo could not complete their respective speeches and struggled to hold back their emotions overwhelmed.

"He was just not a coach but a father figure," said Khumalo.

"This man deserved better. We should have acknowledged him while he was still alive. If anyone can tell me which coach has achieved as much as Clive did? But at the moment, I strongly believe that we failed him as a nation."

Gavin, another son of Barker joined his brother John as they spoke about Barker the family man.

The Afcon-winning Class of 1996 surrounded his coffin draped with a South African flag.

They were led by their captain Neil Tovey, Lucas Radebe, goalkeeper Andre Arendse, Mark Williams and Mark Fish.

After South Africa was readmitted into the international football community in 1992, they suffered a series of heavy defeats.

But Barker took over a demoralised team in 1994 and sensationally transformed it into continental champions and World Cup participants.

After Barker was appointed Bafana coach, Tovey remembers the tactician's emphasis on searching for solutions to "make this team tick" and it "needed love" to turn a battered side into one of the most feared outfits in Africa.

To highlight how much of a big icon Barker was, he was accorded a Special Provincial Official Funeral Category 2 which is usually a preserve of politicians.

Pictured above: The late Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker

 

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