View source for Rudolf Bester

{{short description|Namibian football striker|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox football biography
| image       = 
| name        = Rudolf Bester
| fullname    =
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1983|07|19|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Otjiwarongo]], [[South-West Africa]]
| height      = {{height|m=1.69|precision=0}}
| currentclub = 
| clubnumber  = 
| position    = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 2003–2006
| years2 = 2006–2007
| years3 = 2008
| years4 = 2009
| years5 = 2009–2011
| years6 = 2011–2014
| years7 = 2013–2014
| years8 = 2014–2015
| years9 = 2015–2016
| years10 = 2016–2017
| clubs1 = [[Blue Waters F.C.|Blue Waters]]
| clubs2 = [[Eleven Arrows F.C.|Eleven Arrows]]
| clubs3 = [[FK Čukarički|Čukarički]]
| clubs4 = [[Eleven Arrows F.C.|Eleven Arrows]]
| clubs5 = [[Maritzburg United]]
| clubs6 = [[Orlando Pirates]]
| clubs7 = → [[Lamontville Golden Arrows|Golden Arrows]] (loan)
| clubs8 = [[Free State Stars]]
| clubs9 = [[Moroka Swallows]]
| clubs10 = [[Alexandra Black Aces]]
| caps1 = –
| caps2 = –
| caps3 = 23
| caps4 = –
| caps5 = 52
| caps6 = 20
| caps7 = 18
| caps8 = 8
| caps9 = 7
| caps10 = –
| goals1 = –
| goals2 = –
| goals3 = 2
| goals4 = –
| goals5 = 13
| goals6 = 1
| goals7 = 3
| goals8 = 0
| goals9 = 0
| goals10 = –
| nationalyears1 = 2004–2014
| nationalteam1 = [[Namibia national football team|Namibia]]
| nationalcaps1 = 46
| nationalgoals1 = 13
}}

'''Rudolf Bester''' (born 19 July 1983) is a retired [[Namibia]]n professional football [[Forward (association football)|forward]] who last played for [[Alexandra Black Aces]].

==Career==
He previously played for [[Serbian SuperLiga]] club [[FK Čukarički]],<ref>Ihuhua, Corry. [http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1970&no_cache=1 "Bester is best for Arrows"]. ''[[The Namibian]]'', 12 January 2009. Retrieved on 6 May 2013.</ref> having joined the team in January 2008 from [[Eleven Arrows F.C.|Eleven Arrows]].

He was a part of the [[Namibia national football team|Namibian]] squad at the [[2008 African Cup of Nations]].<ref>Saaid, Hamdan. [https://www.rsssf.org/tables/08a-det.html "African Nations Cup 2008 – Final Tournament Details"]. ''RSSSF'', 4 September 2008. Retrieved on 6 May 2013.</ref> 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.<ref>FIFA. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120719192153/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1613138.html "Bester wonder goal lifts Pirates to top"]. ''[[Agence France-Presse|AFP]]'', 9 April 2012. Retrieved on 6 May 2013.</ref>

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 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF second round#Group F|2014 Brazil World Cup Qualifiers]] against Nigeria, Kenya and [[2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification#First round|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==
*'''[[Premier Soccer League]] (1):'''
**[[2011–12 Premier Soccer League|2011–12]]
*'''[[MTN 8]] (1):'''
**[[2011 MTN 8|2011]]
*'''[[Telkom Knockout|Telkom Knockout Cup]] (1):'''
**2011

==International goals==
:''Scores and results list Namibia's goal tally first.''<ref>{{cite web |author=Földesi, László |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/bester-intlg.html |title=Rudolph Bester – Goals in International Matches |publisher=[[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]] |accessdate=6 May 2013 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size:90%"
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1. || 23 July 2006 || [[Independence Stadium (Namibia)|Independence Stadium]], [[Windhoek]] || {{fb|MWI|1964}} || {{center|2–1}} || {{center|3–2}} || [[2006 COSAFA Cup]]
|-
| 2. || 6 July 2007 || [[Kamuzu Stadium]], [[Blantyre]] || {{fb|MWI|1964}} || {{center|2–1}} || {{center|2–1}} || [[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
| 3. || rowspan=2 | 8 September 2007 || rowspan=2 | [[Addis Ababa Stadium]], [[Addis Ababa]] || rowspan=2 | {{fb|ETH}} || {{center|1–1}} || rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | 3–2 || rowspan=2 | [[2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification]]
|-
| 4. || {{center|2–2}}
|-
| 5. || 14 June 2008 || [[Sam Nujoma Stadium]], Windhoek || {{fb|GUI}} || {{center|1–1}} || {{center|1–2}} || [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF second round|2010 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 6. || 11 October 2008 || Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek || {{fb|ZIM}} || {{center|2–0}} || {{center|4–2}} || |2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
| 7. || 1 April 2009 || [[Saida Municipal Stadium]], [[Saida, Lebanon|Saida]] || {{fb|LIB}} || {{center|1–0}} || {{center|1–1}} || Friendly
|-
| 8. || 6 June 2009 || Independence Stadium, Windhoek || {{fb|DRC}} || {{center|2–0}} || {{center|4–0}} || Friendly
|-
| 9. || 4 September 2009 || Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek || {{fb|SWZ|name=Swaziland}} || {{center|1–0}} || {{center|1–1}} || Friendly
|-
| 10. || 3 March 2010 || [[Moses Mabhida Stadium]], [[Durban]] || {{fb|RSA}} || {{center|1–0}} || {{center|1–1}} || Friendly
|-
| 11. || rowspan=2 | 11 November 2011 || rowspan=2 | [[Stade du Ville|Stade National Gouled]], [[Djibouti City|Djibouti]] || rowspan=2 | {{fb|DJI}} || {{center|1–0}} || rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | 4–0 || rowspan=2 | [[2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF first round|2014 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| 12. || {{center|3–0}}
|-
| 13. || 17 May 2014 || Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek || {{fb|CGO}} || {{center|1–0}} || {{center|1–0}} || [[2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{NFT player|pid=4547}}
* {{FIFA player|294646}}

{{Namibia squad 2008 Africa Cup of Nations}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bester, Rudolf}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Otjiwarongo]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Otjozondjupa Region]]
[[Category:Namibian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Namibia men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Namibian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Eleven Arrows F.C. players]]
[[Category:FK Čukarički players]]
[[Category:Serbian SuperLiga players]]
[[Category:Namibian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia]]
[[Category:Durban City F.C. (2024) players]]
[[Category:Orlando Pirates F.C. players]]
[[Category:Blue Waters F.C. players]]
[[Category:2008 Africa Cup of Nations players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa]]
[[Category:Namibian expatriate sportspeople in South Africa]]
[[Category:Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. players]]
[[Category:Free State Stars F.C. players]]
[[Category:Moroka Swallows F.C. players]]
[[Category:21st-century Namibian sportsmen]]