© Image Courtesy of @manunited_core from Instagram
On Saturday the 30th of July, Erik ten Hag announced that Benni McCarthy was joining the Manchester United family. The 2003/04 Champions League-winning striker has been hired as United's first team strikers' coach. This move may have surprised many but has been, for the most part, well received. But there are some who are not aware of who Benni is, how and why he is a good choice, and if he will be able to turn the tides in United's favour.
Here is a small breakdown to answer some of these questions.
Who is Benni McCarthy?
The Striker
Benedict Saul "Benni" McCarthy was an iconic soccer player, hailing from Cape Town, South Africa. He has had a successful career that saw him rise from playing in an informal league in the Cape Town flats all the way to Europe and winning the Champions League. Ironically, in the same year he won the Champions League, whilst under Jose Mourinho at FC Porto, he scored twice at Old Trafford in the knockout stages. Moreover, Benni is the first South African to claim a Champions League winner's medal. While he was at Blackburn Rovers, he scored 18 league goals in the 2006/07 season, which was the second most in the league that season, behind Chelsea's Didier Drogba, who had scored 20 times.He played at Porto, where he learnt Portuguese; Celta Vigo, where he learnt Spanish; Dutch from his stint at Ajax; and English from his homeland, South Africa, which made it easier to move within the EPL from West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers. According to his manager, this could have given him a leg up in the selection process for the job.
© Image Courtesy of @bennimac17 from Instagram
The Coach
After finally hanging up his boots at Orlando Pirates in 2013, he was recruited by Cape Town City, and he successfully got them up to fifth place in his first season. Sure enough, the next season they cruised to victory in the MTN8 Knockout Trophy for 2018. MTN is a big telecommunications company in South Africa, sponsoring football teams and different tournaments through funds raised from their competitive MTN deals that they offer to the masses.Benni performed even better in his second placement in South Africa taking AmaZulu, a club that had been relegated four times from the Premier Soccer League, to an unprecedented runner's-up spot in the league at the end of their 2020-21 season. This booked them their first ever spot in the African Champions League, a feat that had never happened before.
© Image Courtesy of @bennimac17 from Instagram
Why Benni McCarthy for Man U?
There are lots of reasons why Erik requested Benni, one of them being that he is a great footballer and coach who was also the South African Premier League's Coach for the 2020/21 season. In addition,- He has held a UEFA Pro Licence coaching badge - the highest level in the game—since November 2018.
- He has a great track record of lifting players to their best as seen when he was at Cape Town City and AmaZulu, where he upskilled nine players that ended up winning their first cap for Bafana Bafana.
- His ability to speak in multiple languages and interact with the players was a definite plus, as it put him in a better position to communicate clearly with both the team and coaches.
Quinton Fortune, who himself played for United between 1999 and 2006, added;
"If you look at what he (Benni) has achieved in the game - a Champions League winner, league winner in Holland and Portugal, golden boot winner at the 1998 Nations Cup and in Portugal, together with his coaching qualifications, his appointment is a no-brainer."
