Benni McCarthy had a glittering playing career with Bafana Bafana, Porto and Orlando Pirates to name a few. Where is the legend now?
Benni McCarthy is considering his coaching options
After leaving his post as a forward coach at Man United in June 2024, Benni is still without a club and considering his next move. Rumours have linked the Bafana and Orlando Pirates legend with coaching roles in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. His managerial career started with an assistant coach role at Sint-Truiden in Belgium before head coach posts with Cape Town City (led them to MTN8 glory in 2018-2019) and AmaZulu (steered Usuthu to the Caf Champions League). He also won the EFL Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024 with Manchester United.
Via Daily Maverick in December 2024 on links to the AmaZulu coaching role:
“My mindset is elsewhere. But I’m not closing any doors to coming back home or anywhere else in Africa. But my ambitions are extremely high. The MLS [US Premiership], the Premier League, La Liga, the Portuguese league… That’s where I’m looking to go next,” McCarthy said.
- First and only South African UEFA Champions League winner with Porto in 2004.
- Two-time Primeira Liga winner with Porto.
- Dutch Eredivisie champion with Ajax Amsterdam in 1998.
- Champion of South Africa with Orlando Pirates in 2011-12.
- Nedbank Cup and MTN8 winner in 2011, also with Pirates.
- All-time leading scorer for Bafana Bafana with 31 goals from 80 caps.
- Until 2023 when Lyle Foster made the switch to Burnley, Benni was the most expensive South African footballer of all time. He moved from Ajax to Celta Vigo for €6m in 1999.
- Benni Scored 18 goals in 36 Premier League appearances in the 2006-07 season.
- In October 2007, Benni McCarthy finished a sequence of scoring with 10 consecutive shots on target in the Premier League.
What about the Bafana job?
Benni McCarthy was a recent guest on the On The Whistle Podcast where he discussed Hugo Broos’ credentials as the Bafana boss.
“It’s a good generation of players, a lot of young players breaking through. So it was a massive opportunity for Bafana Bafana [to win the 2023 AFCON]. They had a group of talented players coming through and they found themselves in a lucrative position to be in the semi-final,
“But there are a little bit of shortages, but you know you accept it because Bafana over the last few years have been nowhere. They have not qualified for any World Cups, they have underachieved quite a lot.
“So the fact that they have gone on to the semi-final of AFCON is good. I think with the current squad, the current generation of players that they have to choose from, they should be there and there about,
“I don’t know if they have the right manager, and if not, whichever right man comes in, hopefully, he can take this group of players to the next level,” McCarthy said via Goal.
Is Benni a legit contender for the Bafana job one day?
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