Rudolf Bester

{{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

| 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

| clubs2 = Eleven Arrows

| clubs3 = Čukarički

| clubs4 = Eleven Arrows

| clubs5 = Maritzburg United

| clubs6 = Orlando Pirates

| clubs7 = → 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

| nationalcaps1 = 46

| nationalgoals1 = 13

}}

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,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. 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.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. 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.FIFA. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120719192153/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1613138.html "Bester wonder goal lifts Pirates to top"]. AFP, 9 April 2012. Retrieved on 6 May 2013.

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

Premier Soccer League (1):
2011–12
MTN 8 (1):
2011
Telkom Knockout Cup (1):
2011

International goals

:Scores and results list Namibia's goal tally first.{{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 }}

class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size:90%" ! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1.	23 July 2006	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}}	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
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	{{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 National Gouled, Djibouti	rowspan=2 \| {{fb\|DJI}}	{{center\|1–0}}	rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" \| 4–0	rowspan=2 \| 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