Bernard Parker (born 16 March 1986) is a South African

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

manager and former player who manages the TS Galaxy reserves. He played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Between 2007 and 2015 he made 73 appearances for the South Africa national team scoring 23 goals. Parker started his professional football career playing for

Thanda Royal Zulu Thanda Royal Zulu was a South African football club based in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. History The club started after a Swedish consortium that included Sven-Goran Eriksson bought the franchise from Benoni Premier United at the end of the 2 ...

in the

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

, where he made 70 appearances before a one-year loan to

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

side

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. He joined

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side

FC Twente Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...

in 2009, where he spent a season and a half before being loaned out to

Panserraikos Panserraikos Football Club (), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and well-supported clubs in northern G ...

in the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

. During his time in the Eredivisie, Parker won the 2009-10 Eredivisie and the 2010 Johan Cruyff Shield. He moved to Kaizer Chiefs in 2011. He was awarded the 2013–14 Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot and won two league titles, the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of gi ...

and the

MTN 8 The MTN 8 is a South African soccer single-elimination tournament, cup competition launched in 1972 for teams who finished in the top 8 positions of the league table of the country's preceding season of the top-flight league (currently the Sout ...

with the South African club. Parker was released by Kaizer Chiefs in June 2022 after spending over a decade at the club, making over 350 appearances and scoring over 60 goals.He is currently the coach of TS Galaxy B

Early life

Parker was born and grew up in Reiger Park, a township next to

Boksburg Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, Willem Eduard Bok, W. Eduard Bok. The R29 (South A ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

. He was quite good in a variety of sports and excelled in short and long-distance running as well as achieving Eastern Gauteng colours in swimming.

Club career

A product of the School of Excellence, Parker made his debut in the professional ranks for Cape Town's

Hellenic FC Hellenic FC is a South African association football club based in Cape Town. They are nicknamed ''The Greek Gods''. History Established in 1958 by Greek South Africans, Hellenic campaigned in the lower amateur leagues of Cape Town. But by the ...

, later bought and renamed

Benoni Premier United Benoni United Football Club (known as The Rabbits) is a South African Football club based in Daveyton, Benoni east of Johannesburg in the City of Ekurhuleni formerly known as the East Rand. The club is nicknamed "The Rabbits" which comes fro ...

. After the club was once again renamed and moved to Durban he remained with

Thanda Royal Zulu F.C. Thanda Royal Zulu was a South African association football, football club based in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. History The club started after a Swedish consortium that included Sven-Goran Eriksson bought the franchise from Benoni Premier Unite ...

until early 2009 when he obtained a transfer to European Cup Winners

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

in Serbia. His stay in Belgrade was cut short after reports that the club had cash flow problems and owed its players' salaries. Parker signed with

in July 2009 and was a member of the team that won the Dutch

2009–10 Eredivisie The 2009–10 Eredivisie was the 54th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. AZ were the reigning champions. A total of 18 teams is taking part in the league, consisting of 16 who competed in the previous season and two promoted ...

. After Twente manager

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the manager of the Jamaica national team. McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999 ...

's move to

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, Parker failed to convince new coach

Michel Preud'homme Michel Georges Jean Ghislain Preud'homme (born 24 January 1959) is a Belgian retired association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Currently, he is vic ...

of his qualities and thus spent the first half of the 2010–11 Dutch season mostly on the bench. He joined

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

on trial in December 2010 with a view to a permanent move away from the Dutch club. On 18 January 2011, he moved to

Panserraikos F.C. Panserraikos Football Club (), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and well-supported clubs in northern G ...

on loan, to secure extra game time and returned to FC Twente after the end of the 2010–11 season. After receiving interest from Swedish clubs Malmö FF and Helsingborgs IF as well as South Africa's

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) is a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premiership. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Kings" or "Chiefs" in Zu ...

, Parker chose the latter ahead of the other clubs. In the 2012–13 season, Parker scored 12 league goals in 28 matches and finished as runner up to Katlego Mashego who had 13 and helped Chiefs to a league and cup double. The following season, he won the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot with 10 goals. After Parker spent over a decade at Kaizer Chiefs, the club decided not to renew his contract that was to expire on 30 June 2022. He scored over 60 goals in 350 appearances there. In August 2022 Parker joined TS Galaxy on a two-year contract. On 18 October 2023, Parker suffered a broken leg from a "nightmare challenge" by

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South African football league syste ...

player

Bongani Zungu Bongani Zungu (born 9 October 1992) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for AmaZulu F.C., Amazulu and the South Africa national soccer team, South Africa national team. Club career Having joined the Universit ...

during a Round Of 16 match in the

2023 Carling Knockout Cup The 2023 Carling Knockout Cup was the first season of the South African association football competition, the Carling Knockout Cup, under its new sponsored name. It was organised by the Premier Soccer League and Carling and ran from 21 October 2 ...

between TS Galaxy and Mamelodi Sundowns at

Mbombela Stadium The Mbombela Stadium is a association football, football and Rugby union all-seater stadium in Mbombela in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It was one of 10 venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and one of 5 newly constructed stadiums for th ...

. In July 2024 Parker announced his retirement from playing.

International career

Parker had his South Africa national team debut against Malawi in 2007, scoring his first goal in 2008 against the same team. On 17 June 2009, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win over

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in the 2009 Confederations Cup, and also received the Man of the Match award. He played in

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

representing South Africa but the team was eliminated after group stage. He also played in

2013 African Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

hosted in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. On 16 June 2013, Parker scored an own goal in a 2–1 defeat to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

which ended South Africa's chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Earlier in the match he had given South Africa a 1–0 lead. Parker also scored by chipping the ball over

Víctor Valdés Víctor Valdés Arribas (; born 14 January 1982) is a Spanish association football, football coach and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He spent most of his professional career with FC Ba ...

in the 56th minute in a 1–0 shock win over the then-world and European champions

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Soccer City First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City and The Calabash, is an association football (soccer) and Rugby union stadium located in Nasrec, bordering the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa. The site is m ...

, where it won the World Cup in 2010. Parker won the top goalscorer award at the

2014 African Nations Championship The 2014 African Nations Championship, known as the 2014 CHAN for short and as the Orange S.A., Orange African Nations Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 3rd edition of the biennial association football tournament organized by Confed ...

with four goals from three group matches.

Managerial career

Parker was appointed head coach of the TS Galaxy reserves, playing in the PSL Reserve League, ahead of the 2024–25 season.

Personal life

Parker married Wendy Cherry in

Ballito Ballito is an affluent coastal town located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Ballito is about north of Durban and 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of KwaDukuza. It forms part of the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, and iLembe District Municipality. ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, on 16 June 2012 at a ceremony attended by 170 guests.

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

FC Twente *

: 2009–10 *

Johan Cruijff Schaal The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national football ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Kaizer Chiefs *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2014–15 *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual * Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot: 2013–14 *

African Nations Championship The African Nations Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship and commonly abbreviated as CHAN, is a biennial African association football tournament organized by the Confederation of Afri ...

Golden Boot:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Bernard 1986 births Living people Soccer players from Boksburg Cape Coloureds South African men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards South Africa men's international soccer players South Africa men's A' international soccer players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 African Nations Championship players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Serbian SuperLiga players Eredivisie players Super League Greece players Thanda Royal Zulu F.C. players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players Red Star Belgrade footballers FC Twente players Panserraikos F.C. players TS Galaxy F.C. players South African expatriate men's soccer players South African soccer managers South African expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Expatriate men's footballers in Serbia South African expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands South African expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece 21st-century South African sportsmen