Mark Fish - Wikipedia
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move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Club career 2 International career 3 Personal life 4 Career statistics Toggle Career statistics subsection 4.1 International 5 Honours 6 Further reading 7 References 8 External links Toggle the table of contentsMark Fish
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Find sources: "Mark Fish" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( January 2013 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Mark Fish Fish playing for Charlton Athletic in 2004 Personal information Full name Mark Anthony Fish [ 1 ] Date of birth ( 1974-03-14 ) 14 March 1974 (age 51) Place of birth Cape Town , South Africa Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) [ 2 ] Position(s) Defender Youth career Arcadia Shepherds Senior career* Years Team Apps ( Gls ) 1991–1993 Jomo Cosmos 55 (3) 1993–1996 Orlando Pirates 110 (11) 1996–1997 Lazio 15 (1) 1997–2000 Bolton Wanderers 103 (3) 2000–2005 Charlton Athletic 102 (3) 2005 → Ipswich Town (loan) 1 (0) 2007 Jomo Cosmos 0 (0) Total 386 (21) International career 1993–2004 South Africa 62 (2) Medal record Men's football Representing South Africa Africa Cup of Nations Winner 1996 South Africa Runner-up 1998 Burkina Faso 2000 Ghana–Nigeria *Club domestic league appearances and goals
Mark Anthony Fish (born 14 March 1974) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a defender .
Club career
[ edit ]Born in Cape Town , [ 1 ] 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 in Pretoria . He was spotted by then Jomo Cosmos coach Roy Matthews and turned professional as a 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 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 BP Top 8 cup in 1994, the 1995 1995 African Champions League and the 1995 Bob Save Super Bowl (then the premier cup in South Africa). He captained The Buccaneers when they beat JS Kabylie in the 1996 CAF Super Cup . [ 3 ]
Soon foreign scouts came knocking and he was signed by 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 . 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 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 in the 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
[ edit ]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 . He was named to the Team of the Tournament in both the 1996 and 1998 African Cup of Nations . In total he won 62 caps for the South African national team , scoring twice.
He made his international debut in a friendly game against Mexico on 6 October 1993 and received his last cap in a World Cup qualifier against Ghana on 20 June 2004.
Personal life
[ edit ]In August 2008, Fish's wife and his son were at their Pretoria home with friends when five armed men robbed their house. [ 4 ]
Career statistics
[ edit ]International
[ edit ] Appearances and goals by national team and year [ 2 ] National team Year Apps Goals 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 Total 62 2 Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fish goal . List of international goals scored by Mark Fish [ 2 ] No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref. 1 27 January 1996 FNB Stadium , Johannesburg , South Africa Algeria 1–0 2–1 1996 African Cup of Nations [ 5 ] 2 15 June 1996 FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Malawi 2–0 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification [ 6 ]Honours
[ edit ]Orlando Pirates
National Soccer League : 1994 Bob Save Super Bowl : 1996 BP Top Eight Cup : 1996 African Cup of Champions Clubs : 1995 CAF Super Cup : 1996South Africa
African Cup of Nations : 1996 ; runner-up: 1998 ; third place: 2000