View source for Mark Fish

{{short description|South African footballer}}
{{About|the South African footballer|the television writer|Mark Fish (writer)|the American composer|Mark Fish (composer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mark Fish
| image = Mark Fish.jpg
| caption = Fish playing for [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]] in 2004
| fullname = Mark Anthony Fish<ref name="hugman">{{Hugman|6416|accessdate=5 March 2021}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|3|14|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Cape Town]], South Africa
| height = {{Height|m=1.87}}<ref name="NFT">{{NFT player|6129|access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>
| position = [[Defender (association football)|Defender]]
| youthyears1 = 
| youthclubs1 = [[Arcadia Shepherds]]
| years1 = 1991–1993
| years2 = 1993–1996
| years3 = 1996–1997
| years4 = 1997–2000
| years5 = 2000–2005
| years6 = 2005
| years7 = 2007
| years8 = 
| clubs1 = [[Jomo Cosmos]]
| clubs2 = [[Orlando Pirates FC|Orlando Pirates]]
| clubs3 = [[S.S. Lazio|Lazio]]
| clubs4 = [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]]
| clubs5 = [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]]
| clubs6 = → [[Ipswich Town F.C.|Ipswich Town]] (loan)
| clubs7 = [[Jomo Cosmos]]
| caps1 = 55
| caps2 = 110
| caps3 = 15
| caps4 = 103
| caps5 = 102
| caps6 = 1
| caps7 = 0
| totalcaps = 386
| goals1 = 3
| goals2 = 11
| goals3 = 1
| goals4 = 3
| goals5 = 3
| goals6 = 0
| goals7 = 0
| totalgoals = 21
| nationalyears1 = 1993–2004
| nationalteam1 = [[South Africa national soccer team|South Africa]]
| nationalcaps1 = 62
| nationalgoals1 = 2
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Association football|football]]}}
{{MedalCountry | {{RSA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Africa Cup of Nations]]}}
{{Medal|W|[[1996 Africa Cup of Nations|1996 South Africa]]|}}
{{Medal|RU|[[1998 Africa Cup of Nations|1998 Burkina Faso]]|}}
{{Medal|3rd|[[2000 Africa Cup of Nations|2000 Ghana–Nigeria]]|}}
}}
'''Mark Anthony Fish''' (born 14 March 1974) is a South African former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[Defender (association football)|defender]].

==Club career==
Born in [[Cape Town]],<ref name="hugman" /> Fish started his career in his native South Africa under the guidance of renowned coach Steve Coetsee, playing for [[Arcadia Shepherds]], an amateur team based at the [[Caledonian Stadium (Pretoria)|Caledonian Stadium]] in [[Pretoria]]. He was spotted by then [[Jomo Cosmos]] coach [[Roy Matthews]] and turned professional as a [[Forward (association football)#Striker|striker]]. It was at Cosmos that he was converted into a left-back and went on to become one of the most promising defenders in South Africa at the time.

In 1994, Fish was signed by [[Orlando Pirates F.C.|Orlando Pirates]] after Cosmos were relegated. At Pirates he arguably played the best football of his career under the tutelage of [[Mike Makaab]]. He also won the league championship at Pirates, as well as the [[MTN 8|BP Top 8]] cup in 1994, the 1995 [[1995 African Cup of Champions Clubs|1995 African Champions League]] and the 1995 [[Nedbank Cup|Bob Save Super Bowl]] (then the premier cup in South Africa). He captained ''The Buccaneers'' when they beat [[JS Kabylie]] in the [[List of CAF Super Cup winners|1996 CAF Super Cup]].<ref>[http://www.kickoff.com/news/37231/orlando-pirates-1995-caf-champions-league Orlando Pirates 1995 CAF Champions League]</ref>

Soon foreign scouts came knocking and he was signed by [[S.S. Lazio|Lazio]] of Italy, after he turned down an opportunity to play for his boyhood club, [[Manchester United]]. However, he did move to England after just one season at Lazio to become the highest paid player at [[Bolton Wanderers F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]]. Fish was a mainstay in Bolton's back four for much of their first season back in the Premiership, he received praise from both teammates and those whom he played against, most notably Manchester United forward [[Andy Cole]]. Despite Fish's efforts Bolton were relegated on the last day of the season despite having accumulated 40 points, normally enough to stave off the drop. Once playing back in the lower leagues Fish applied himself well, quickly gaining a cult status amongst the Bolton faithful, backed up by his nickname "Feesh", and a particularly eyecatching headgear in the shape of a giant Blue fish being made available in club stores. However, new suitors soon came calling, and only after the appointment of [[Sam Allardyce]] did Fish's star begin to fall in Lancashire. Fish soon followed his Danish teammate [[Claus Jensen]] and at Alan Curbishley's second time of asking moved to [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]] in a £700,000 move in November 2000. "The Big Fish" as he was affectionately known throughout his playing career went on to make 102 Premiership appearances for the Addicks, scoring three times.

In 2005, he began to fall out of favour at Charlton. He went on to have a short loan spell at [[Ipswich Town F.C.|Ipswich Town]] in the [[2005–06 in English football|2005–06]] season but a severe [[cruciate ligament]] injury led to Fish announcing his retirement.

Fish returned to football when he signed a six-month contract with his first club Jomo Cosmos in early 2007 but did not play an official game due to his low level of fitness.

==International career==
Internationally, Fish is best remembered as being a crucial part of South Africa's victorious national soccer squad when they won the [[1996 African Cup of Nations]]. He scored one of the goals in the quarter final against [[Algeria national football team|Algeria]]. He was named to the Team of the Tournament in both the 1996 and 1998 [[African Cup of Nations]]. In total he won 62 [[Cap (sport)|caps]] for the [[South Africa national soccer team|South African national team]], scoring twice.

He made his international debut in a friendly game against [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] on 6 October 1993 and received his last cap in a World Cup qualifier against [[Ghana national football team|Ghana]] on 20 June 2004.

==Personal life==
In August 2008, Fish's wife and his son were at their [[Pretoria]] home with friends when five armed men robbed their house.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20080823090334536C133023|title=Soccer star robbed, son threatened|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109085719/http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/soccer-star-robbed-son-threatened-1.413574#.VK-X99LP1hE|archive-date=9 January 2015}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="NFT" />
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="9"|[[South Africa national soccer team|South Africa]]
|1993||1||0
|-
|1994||6||0
|-
|1995||4||0
|-
|1996||10||2
|-
|1997||10||0
|-
|1998||14||0
|-
|1999||8||0
|-
|2000||7||0
|-
|2004||2||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!62!!2
|}

:''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fish goal''.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Mark Fish<ref name="NFT" />
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
!scope="col" class="unsortable"|{{Abbr|Ref.|References}}
|-
|align="center"|1
|{{dts|27 January 1996}}
|[[FNB Stadium]], [[Johannesburg]], South Africa
|{{fb|Algeria}}
|align="center"|1–0
|align="center"|2–1
|[[1996 African Cup of Nations]]
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Africa v Algeria, 27 January 1996 |url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/south-africa-v-algeria-27-january-1996-246276/ |access-date=5 March 2021 |website=11v11.com |publisher=AFS Enterprises}}</ref>
|-
|align="center"|2
|{{dts|15 June 1996}}
|FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
|{{fb|Malawi|1964}}
|align="center"|2–0
|align="center"|3–0
|[[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)|1998 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Africa v Malawi, 15 June 1996 |url=https://www.11v11.com/matches/south-africa-v-malawi-15-june-1996-246618/ |access-date=5 March 2021 |website=11v11.com |publisher=AFS Enterprises}}</ref>
|}

==Honours==
'''Orlando Pirates'''
*[[National Soccer League (South Africa)|National Soccer League]]: [[1994 NSL First Division|1994]]
*[[Nedbank Cup|Bob Save Super Bowl]]: 1996
*[[MTN 8|BP Top Eight Cup]]: 1996
*[[CAF Champions League|African Cup of Champions Clubs]]: [[1995 African Cup of Champions Clubs|1995]]
*[[CAF Super Cup]]: 1996

'''South Africa'''
*[[Africa Cup of Nations|African Cup of Nations]]: [[1996 African Cup of Nations|1996]]; runner-up: [[1998 African Cup of Nations|1998]]; third place: [[2000 African Cup of Nations|2000]]

==Further reading==
*[[Graeme Friedman]] ''[[Nelson Mandela|Madiba]]'s Boys The Stories of [[Lucas Radebe]] and Mark Fish''  Comerford & Miller, United Kingdom {{ISBN|9781919888088}} Features a foreword by [[Nelson Mandela]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Soccerbase}}

{{1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Tournament}}
{{1996 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament}}
{{1998 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament}}
{{Navboxes
|title=South Africa squads
| bg = #F7EB29
| fg = #006400
| bordercolor = #006400
|list1=
{{South Africa squad 1996 African Cup of Nations}}
{{South Africa squad 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
{{South Africa squad 1998 African Cup of Nations}}
{{South Africa squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}}
{{South Africa squad 2000 African Cup of Nations}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Mark}}
[[Category:1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players]]
[[Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1996 African Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:1998 African Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:2000 African Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:Africa Cup of Nations–winning players]]
[[Category:Bolton Wanderers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Charlton Athletic F.C. players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Italy]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Ipswich Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Jomo Cosmos F.C. players]]
[[Category:Orlando Pirates F.C. players]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Pretoria]]
[[Category:Premier League players]]
[[Category:Serie A players]]
[[Category:South Africa men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England]]
[[Category:South African expatriate sportspeople in England]]
[[Category:South African expatriate sportspeople in Italy]]
[[Category:South African expatriate men's soccer players]]
[[Category:South African men's soccer players]]
[[Category:SS Lazio players]]
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:South African people of British descent]]
[[Category:Alumni of Pretoria Boys High School]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Cape Town]]
[[Category:CAF Champions League–winning players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]