Just over two months ago, Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag confirmed Benni McCarthy's exit from Old Trafford after serving the club from July 2022. And now, McCarthy will sit down for the first time to chat about his time at the Theatre of Dreams.
McCarthy’s departure was part of the new top brass’ restructuring under new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but more so, it was a move to free up space for club legend Ruud van Nistelrooy, who occupies McCarthy’s old role as a striker’s coach.
But, McCarthy had a say, however, as his motivation to leave United was fueled by his desire to return to the dugout as a head coach.
The former Bafana Bafana striker has had a couple of coaching roles in Europe where he served as Chris O’Loughlin’s right-hand man at Belgian side Sint-Truidense between 2015 and 2016.
After cutting his teeth, McCarthy was appointed by John Comitis at Cape Town City where he had his first head coach gig, staying three years in the Mother City before he went on to take charge of AmaZulu.
WATCH: Some of McCarthy’s fine strikes in his heydays
At Usuthu, the 46-year-old guided the Durban-based Premier Soccer League side to a second-place finish in the league, dragging them out of the relegation quagmire to title contenders.
In the end, he was rewarded with the PSL Coach of the Season award, piping Mamelodi Sundowns duo at the time, Manqoba Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena.
In the highly anticipated first sit down post his Manchester exit, McCarthy will chat with Sizwe Mabena about the infant stages of his career, and his memories at Bafana as he still holds the record of being the country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 31 strikes.
As the only South African who has a UEFA Champions League gold medal, McCarthy has earned the right to be dubbed South Africa’s football darling.
At some point, the former Orlando Pirates striker was linked with the Bafana top job, with a report putting a stamp on his appointment.
But it did not turn out to be the case as the South African Football Association went with Hugo Broos, who is still steering the ship to this day.
Did SAFA reach out to McCarthy and his camp? Were McCarthy’s demands too much for SAFA to satisfy? For clarity on that and more, be sure to tune into one of the public broadcaster’s premium sports shows, Game On, powered by Hollywoodbets this Saturday on SABC1 at 14:00.
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