| Rudolf Bester | |
| Birth Date: | 19 July 1983 |
| Birth Place: | Otjiwarongo, South-West Africa |
| Position: | Forward |
| 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.
He previously played for Serbian SuperLiga club FK Čukarički,[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.
Scores and results list Namibia's goal tally first.[4]
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 23 July 2006 | 2006 COSAFA Cup | |||||
| 2. | 6 July 2007 | Friendly | |||||
| 3. | 8 September 2007 | 3–2 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | ||||
| 4. | |||||||
| 5. | 14 June 2008 | Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 6. | 11 October 2008 | Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 7. | 1 April 2009 | Friendly | |||||
| 8. | 6 June 2009 | Independence Stadium, Windhoek | Friendly | ||||
| 9. | 4 September 2009 | Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek | Friendly | ||||
| 10. | 3 March 2010 | Friendly | |||||
| 11. | 11 November 2011 | 4–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 12. | |||||||
| 13. | 17 May 2014 | Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |