Rudolf Bester
Birth date19 July 1983 (age 43)
Birth placeOtjiwarongo, South-West Africa
Height1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
PositionForward
Years 12003–2006
Years 22006–2007
Years 32008
Years 42009
Years 52009–2011
Years 62011–2014
Years 72013–2014
Years 82014–2015
Years 92015–2016
Years 102016–2017
Clubs 1Blue Waters
Clubs 2Eleven Arrows
Clubs 3Čukarički
Clubs 4Eleven Arrows
Clubs 5Maritzburg United
Clubs 6Orlando Pirates
Clubs 7→ Golden Arrows (loan)
Clubs 8Free State Stars
Clubs 9Moroka Swallows
Clubs 10Alexandra Black Aces
Caps 1–
Caps 2–
Caps 323
Caps 4–
Caps 552
Caps 620
Caps 718
Caps 88
Caps 97
Caps 10–
Goals 1–
Goals 2–
Goals 32
Goals 4–
Goals 513
Goals 61
Goals 73
Goals 80
Goals 90
Goals 10–
Nationalyears 12004–2014
Nationalteam 1Namibia
Nationalcaps 146
Nationalgoals 113

Rudolf Bester (born 19 July 1983) is a retired Namibian professional football forward who last played for Alexandra Black Aces.

Career

He previously played for Serbian SuperLiga club FK Čukarički,[1] having joined the team in January 2008 from Eleven Arrows.

He was a part of the Namibian squad at the 2008 African Cup of Nations.[2] He has a record of 13 goals for Namibia and is currently the highest national top goal scorer, ahead of retired Gerros Uri-khob with 12 and Ruben Van Wyk with 11 goals. Despite coming on for Orlando Pirates as a substitute in various games, Bester once gave Pirates an important victory in the last games of the 2011/12 league season. The win came at a crucial time and contributed to the team's league title. Pirates were held 1–1 by Cosmos and in the dying minutes of the second half, he scored a winning cracker to give the defending champions a 3-point lead on top of the table against relegation bound Jomo Cosmos in the 2011/12 season.[3]

In June 2012, Bester missed three important international matches due to Injury. He was expected to play for Namibia's Brave Warriors in the 2014 Brazil World Cup Qualifiers against Nigeria, Kenya and 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia. He recovered from the injury and returned to international duty in a friendly against Rwanda on Saturday, 13 October 2012, in Windhoek. He is one of the few Namibians to play professional football outside Namibia, the first Namibian to win the PSL with Pirates and the first Namibian to play against Tottenham Hotspur of England.

His name is occasionally spelled as Rudolph in some sources.

Honours

International goals

Scores and results list Namibia's goal tally first.[4]
DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.23 July 2006Independence Stadium, WindhoekMWI
2–1
3–2
2006 COSAFA Cup
2.6 July 2007Kamuzu Stadium, BlantyreMWI
2–1
2–1
Friendly
3.8 September 2007Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis AbabaEthiopia
1–1
rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | 3–22008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
4.
2–2
5.14 June 2008Sam Nujoma Stadium, WindhoekGUI
1–1
1–2
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.11 October 2008Sam Nujoma Stadium, WindhoekZimbabwe
2–0
4–2
|2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.1 April 2009Saida Municipal Stadium, SaidaLebanon
1–0
1–1
Friendly
8.6 June 2009Independence Stadium, WindhoekDRC
2–0
4–0
Friendly
9.4 September 2009Sam Nujoma Stadium, WindhoekSWZ
1–0
1–1
Friendly
10.3 March 2010Moses Mabhida Stadium, DurbanSouth Africa
1–0
1–1
Friendly
11.11 November 2011Stade National Gouled, DjiboutiDJI
1–0
rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | 4–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.
3–0
13.17 May 2014Sam Nujoma Stadium, WindhoekCongo
1–0
1–0
2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References

  1. ^ Ihuhua, Corry. "Bester is best for Arrows". The Namibian, 12 January 2009. Retrieved on 6 May 2013.
  2. ^ Saaid, Hamdan. "African Nations Cup 2008 – Final Tournament Details". RSSSF, 4 September 2008. Retrieved on 6 May 2013.
  3. ^ FIFA. "Bester wonder goal lifts Pirates to top". AFP, 9 April 2012. Retrieved on 6 May 2013.
  4. ^ Földesi, László. "Rudolph Bester – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 May 2013.