Johannesburg - The obvious tribute to pay to Clive Barker who died last Saturday would be to wax lyrical about HIM leading Bafana Bafana to the Africa Cup of Nations title back in 1996. After all, that triumph in the biennial, continental showpiece remains arguably South Africa’s biggest football achievement to date.
But to limit Barker’s coaching prowess to just that success would be disrespecting the man’s fantastic contribution to the SA game. Sure,
Barker had a super reign as the national team coach. He was, lest it be forgotten, the one who earned SA their maiden participation at the World Cup by qualifying Bafana for the 1998 tournament– the fact that Safa stupidly kicked him to the curb thereafter notwithstanding.
The Dog, as Barker was fondly referred to, coached many a SA clubs and had the kind of success that qualified him to be regarded as a legendary coach even before his great feats with Bafana. And the discerning football fan will remember how brilliant his teams in the 1970s and 1980s – AmaZulu, Durban City and Durban Bush Bucks – were.
I was particularly fond of that Bucks team in the late 80s where Barker had the likes of the inimitable Mlungisi “Professor” Ngubane, the highly-skilled Daniel Ramarutsi, tough-as-nails defender Victor “Mr T” Twala and Dave Waterson in goal.
Having been privileged as a journalist to get close to Barker, I came to know him a little and was awed by his story-telling abilities more than anything. Barker had stories for days and the one that has stayed with me is one from his time with Bucks - Amathole Amnyama.
He spoke of how the late Lawrence “Big Bear” Ngubane had “fixed” a match behind his back.
The story went something like this: The game was tied and the opposition got a penalty. The Bucks goalkeeper was apparently in on the fix and to ensure the opposition scored, he went to the kicker and told him he would dive the one side so he should kick the ball to the other.
But the opponent thought he was being duped. He kicked the ball to exactly where the goalkeeper had said he would dive. So the goalie inadvertently saved the spot-kick. Cue drama.
Barker and his team on the bench celebrated, but he was surprised to see Ngubane not joining them. Instead the manager walked off and Barker spotted him running towards the stadium exit with clearly angry men in pursuit – the coach finding out about the fix later on.
Such was Barker’s openness, an honest man who shared tales that generally do not get told – particularly to journalists.
This was the coach who allowed journalists into the team hotel when he was in charge of Bafana and even gave us permission to go up to the players’ rooms for interviews. This was the coach who allowed Mark Williams to go out for a beer on the eve of the 1996 Afcon final. And we all know how the story ended.
The first time I interviewed him as a junior journalist was after that heartbreaking defeat to Brazil in 1997. I was writing about Lucas Radebe’s stellar performance, which was spoilt by his failure to completely shut Bebeto out.
But Barker, his arm over my shoulder in a fatherly way, was magnanimous in defeat and full of praise for Radebe even though his momentary lapse of concentration cost Bafana what could have been a famous win. Instead he told everyone that he was to blame, apportioning the defeat to him having taken off Doctor Khumalo. What a coach! What a man!
I last saw Barker at his home in Durban when I interviewed him and Neil Tovey for my YouTube channel – ShootOnline – for the 25th anniversary of Bafana’s Afcon triumph. He was already unwell then and he often mixed up his stories, referring to the Brazil match when we were talking about Afcon. But even as frail as he was, the passion for the game was still there, the love for his players was still there. And Tovey, one of the players who owed their brilliant careers to Barker’s guidance, reciprocated the love – often helping finish his former coach’s sentences.
SA football was privileged and blessed to have had Barker.