An aspiring youngster was left in tears after meeting his idol – Bernard Parker at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday night.
Parker, after putting on a shift as Galaxy floored AmaZulu 2-1 at the 2010 World Cup arena where he once scored four goals, ironically against Usuthu 11 years ago, was left touched when a local youngster cried as he had been dying to see him.
Shaylen Saunders, from Newlands East, could not hold back his emotions, weeping in the arms of Parker, who was coming out from the dressing room to the team bus.
Parker embraced the young man and paused for pictures, but tears kept on flowing, before telling iDiski Times that his football career in future might come true as he will attend AmaZulu trials for the age group in the next coming months.
Saunders was amongst 30 children brought to the venue by Duduzane Zuma to sit up in the stands for the first time, with the son of the former president deserting the VIP suite but watching the game with the fans.
“I always wanted to meet him [Parker] from a small age,” Saunders told iDiski Times on why he was crying.
“I watched him play for Chiefs and now he’s playing for TS Galaxy. I have wanted to meet this guy for a long time.
“Now I met him today and this is a big opportunity for me thanks to Duduzane because I have always wanted to meet him.
“I love him [Parker] – and I hope at some point I can emulate him. But I’m going to try my luck with AmaZulu.”
This might not be the last time Saunders meets Parker, as the former Bafana star’s wife, Wendy is from Newlands East.
Zuma’s wife is also in the same place, where he has been seen with the community cleaning the roads, as he feels the municipality has let the community down.
Moses Mabhida Stadium has been an old stomping ground for Parker, who also scored the winner when Chiefs beat SuperSport United in the Nedbank Cup final in the 2012/13 edition when Amakhosi won the double in the first season under Stuart Baxter.
– Advertisement –
Parker left Chiefs at the end of last season despite having become the club’s all-time goal scorer in the PSL era with 64 goals.
The 36-year-old broke Siphiwe Tshabalala’s record when he scored twice against SuperSport on 24 October 2021 to move to 58 goals then.
