By Michael Madyira
When AmaZulu fired Benni McCarthy in March 2022, South African football had no idea what they had just lost.
After being discarded by Usuthu, the Bafana Bafana legend appeared to have landed in the wilderness.
But he surprisingly resurfaced four months later when he was appointed to a dream job as Manchester United attacking coach.
The 45-year-old took up a role to work with one of the best players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as other Red Devils attackers who were struggling to find the back of the net.
But just six months into his job, McCarthy has transformed United’s attack into a prolific unit, even after Ronaldo has left.
Marcus Rashford has stepped up to take responsibility upfront, scoring eight goals in his last seven outings.
United boss Erick Ten Hag couldn’t help but shower McCarthy with praise for making a difference at Carrington.
“In our coaching staff, we had a lot of defenders and midfield players,” said Ten Hag, Manchester Evening News reported.
“I also wanted to find a good balance. He is offensive [minded] as he is a former striker and that is also a really specific job task in the team.
“I never played there, so I’m lucky to have someone in my staff who played there. Football is about scoring and you have a goalkeeping specialist, but you also have offensive specialists and, in particular, we have a specific scoring trainer.”
According to Ten Hag, McCarthy has made an impact not only on United forwards, but on the entire squad.
“He has to add that, in detail, working and for the rest of us, he has a relationship with all the players in our squad,” Ten Hag added.
“He also has to work on the togetherness and he is doing a great job on that.”
Before taking the United role, McCarthy had lasted 60 games at AmaZulu.
In his first season at Usuthu, he made them dreamers after guiding them to a runners-up finish in the 2020/21 PSL campaign.
That earned the KwaZulu-Natal side their first-ever participation in the CAF Champions League, reaching the group stage.
Before the AmaZulu gig, McCarthy had guided Cape Town City to the MTN8 title.
Having not been considered for the Bafana Bafana job when the South African football honchos went to Belgium to bring Hugo Broos, McCarthy might have meant nothing to them.
Now he is proving his mettle at one of the world’s biggest football clubs.
Pictured above: Benni McCarthy
Image source: Manchester United
