3 February 1996. FNB Stadium, Soweto. South Africa vs Tunisia. It is the final of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations . the crowd goes wild as the star striker scores his second goal. A man on the side-line takes to the field as if he’s an aeroplane in flight. Arms stretched out to the sides with his head and shoulders hunched forward, Clive Barker propels himself into his signature ‘Flying Man’, and expressions of excitement and joy follow as he flies across the field, whipping the 80 000 fans into a further frenzy. Barker’s trademark flight of victory is what football fans associate with world-renowned soccer coach Clive Barker. Now author Michael Marnewick has written a book that offers a first-class glimpse into the life of this extraordinary South African, detailing everything from his pre-coaching days and how he avoided bankruptcy by driving taxis, to his early coaching jobs and making it into the professional ranks and ultimately to the position of national soccer coach. The book is not only an in-depth look at Clive Barker the coach, but also gives insight into Clive Barker the man, the husband, the father and the patriot, who helped shape legends in South African football by working with and coaching talent in townships. Truly, like his hero Nelson Mandela, a man of the people. Coach is an important record of South Africa’s football history, capturing the social and political upheaval in the country during the dark days of apartheid and leading into South Africa’s golden period of international football when Barker, as the country’s most successful and longest running national coach, led the team to their only African Cup of Nations success in 1996, before qualification for the 1998 Soccer World Cup.

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