 McCarthy warming up forWest Ham United in 2010 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benedict Saul McCarthy[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1977-11-12)12 November 1977 (age 47) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Young Pirates | |||||||||||||||||
| Crusaders | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | Seven Stars | 49 | (42) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | →Cape Town Spurs (loan) | 7 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Ajax | 36 | (20) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2003 | Celta Vigo | 66 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2006 | Porto | 85 | (46) | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Blackburn Rovers | 109 | (37) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | West Ham United | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Orlando Pirates | 24 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 387 | (168) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| South Africa U23 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2012 | South Africa | 79 | (31) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Sint-Truiden (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Cape Town City | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | AmaZulu | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Manchester United (first team coach) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Kenya | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Benedict Saul McCarthy (born 12 November 1977) is a South Africanfootball coach who is currently the manager of theKenya national football team. He previously worked as head coach ofSouth African Premier Division teamAmaZulu, and as assistant coach atManchester United.[3][4]
A formerforward, McCarthy is theSouth Africa national team's all-time top scorer with 31 goals.[5] He is also the only South African to have won theUEFA Champions League, doing so withPorto in2003–04.
McCarthy was born inCape Town and grew up inHanover Park in theCape Flats,[6] an area notorious for its high unemployment rate and gang violence. He is the son of Dudley and Dora McCarthy and has two brothers and a sister.[7] His older brother isJerome McCarthy, a former professional footballer who played forKaizer Chiefs andManning Rangers, among other clubs, while his younger brother Mark played football atFranklin Pierce University in the United States.[7]
McCarthy began playing at a local side called Young Pirates, which was managed by his uncles. He then joined the youth structures of a local amateur club called Crusaders. At age 17, he was signed by first division clubSeven Stars.[8]
Playing forSeven Stars, the 18-year-old McCarthy scored 1 goal in 29 matches in the 1995–96 season, followed by another 12 goals in 20 matches, which earned him a transfer to Cape Town Spurs, which two years later merged with Seven Stars to form Dutch clubAjax'sfeeder team,Ajax Cape Town.
In 1997, after an impressive showing at theAfrican Youth Championship andFIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia, he joined Ajax in theEredivisie, where he scored nine goals and was crowned champion in his first season. After a relatively successful1998–99 season, he was sold to Spanish sideCelta Vigo for a transfer fee reported to be over €6 million, at the time the most expensive transfer for a South African player.
Although regarded as one of the best African players at the time, McCarthy never established himself as a regular choice for Celta's manager,Víctor Fernández. After two poor seasons at theGalician club, he was loaned to strugglingPorto in the2001–02 season, where he soon rediscovered the form that took him to Europe.
At Porto, McCarthy played under the then newly appointed coachJosé Mourinho for an underperforming team that since winning theEuropean Cup in1987 had never been quite good enough to challenge for the top honours in Europe. However, that would soon change.
After representingBafana Bafana in the2002 African Nations Cup, where his national side was eliminated in the quarter-finals, McCarthy returned to Porto, where he became the main force behind the team's recovery. He helped them to third place in thePrimeira Liga and automatic qualification for theUEFA Cup by scoring an impressive 12 goals in 11 matches, but Porto's finances did not allow them to keep the player, despite the desire of both sides to continue.
In 2002–03, McCarthy therefore returned to Celta, where he spent much of his time on the substitutes' bench as a squad player as Porto captured theTaça de Portugal, the Portuguese League and theUEFA Cup. When Porto sold strikerHélder Postiga toTottenham Hotspur ahead of the 2003–04 season, Porto finally acquired McCarthy for a sum of €7.856 million,[9] (later re-sold part of the rights toGestiFute andFirst Portuguese Football Players Fund.)
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For the2003–04 Primeira Liga season, he earned the Golden Boot award (with 20 goals in 23 matches) on the season's final matchday with ahat-trick, and was instrumental in Porto's run in the2003–04 UEFA Champions League, whichthey won. He scored two goals againstManchester United to defeat them in the second round.
On 25 July 2006, McCarthy flew out to England to undergo a medical and probable contract signing to join Blackburn Rovers.[10] Three days later, he signed a four-year contract with Blackburn for a £2.5 million transfer fee. The move meant that Rovers regularly fielded a side that contained two South African Internationals, the other beingAaron Mokoena who joined the club the year previous.
After a disappointing performance in the side's 3–0 defeat toPortsmouth, McCarthy found the net on his debut atEwood Park against Everton on 23 August 2006. McCarthy further endeared himself to Rovers fans, scoring a goal on his European debut for the club in a 2–2 againstRed Bull Salzburg in theUEFA Cup, and scoring another in the return leg. He finished second top scorer in the Premier League in2006–07 with 18 league goals, as well as 24 in all competitions.
The following season got off to a poor start for McCarthy when he was stretchered off in thePremier League opening day win againstMiddlesbrough. McCarthy was out of action for a few weeks and found first team opportunities limited, largely because the form of new striking arrivalRoque Santa Cruz. Despite being limited to largely substitute appearances, McCarthy did find the net 11 times in all competitions.
In the2008–09 season, McCarthy appeared to be out of favour with new managerPaul Ince, as the club's strike force was strengthened with the arrivals ofCarlos Villanueva andRobbie Fowler to join the already established Roque Santa Cruz,Jason Roberts andMatt Derbyshire. However, McCarthy answered these critics by scoring his first goal of the campaign – a 94th-minute equaliser in aPremier League match against Middlesbrough.
In all competitions for Blackburn, McCarthy scored 52 goals in 140 matches.
McCarthy completed a move to West Ham United for an undisclosed fee on transfer deadline day, 1 February 2010. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract that was due to run until the summer of 2012. He made his Premier League debut for West Ham againstBurnley atTurf Moor in a 2–1 defeat on 6 February 2010, where he sustained an injury which would keep him out for six weeks.[11] In February 2011, having played just 326 minutes of football, making only three starts and failing to score any goals for West Ham, McCarthy was omitted from West Ham's 25-man squad for the remainder of the2010–11 season. He was also offered a £1 million pay-off in exchange for terminating his contract prematurely.[12][13] In April 2011, McCarthy left West Ham by mutual agreement after the parties agreed to terminate his contract.[14] He made only two Premier League starts and fourteen appearances in all competitions scoring no goals.[15]
After leaving West Ham, McCarthy trained with former club Ajax Cape Town during theABSA Premier League off-season. On 2 August,Orlando Pirates confirmed the signing of McCarthy on a two-year deal, ending his 14-year spell in Europe. On signing, McCarthy said, "I'm thrilled and delighted and hope I can show my appreciation by coming in and playing good football and hope to score as many goals as possible to put the team where they belong."[16] McCarthy began the season by scoring on debut and vowed to score more goals.
McCarthy scored two goals in the final half-hour to help the Pirates defeat theGolden Arrows 4–2 on 19 May 2012 to retain theirPremier League title.[17] He finished his successful season with ten league goals, ending the campaign as the fourth leading goal-scorer in the Premier League, helping the club secure their second successive treble. Having already won a league championship with Ajax in the Netherlands as well with Porto both domestically and in Europe, McCarthy would make football history by winning the league championship with Orlando Pirates in South Africa. This meant McCarthy was the first South African footballer to win three league titles with three different football clubs on two different continents.[18]
McCarthy, who is affectionately known as "Big Brother" by the Orlando Pirates faithful, was handed a red card for dissent in the MTN 8 secondleg semi-final played on 25 August 2012 after he chargedFranklin Cale after a reckless challenge onDaine Klate. This incident lead to protesting fans whom, in their view, Cale was equally guilty in the incident and should have also been shown red. McCarthy announced his retirement from professional football on 6 June 2013, aged 35.[19]
On 13 July 2014, McCarthy made a guest appearance for Scottish Lowland league clubWhitehill Welfare in a pre-season friendly against aHamilton Academical XI, scoring in the 14th minute and providing an assist for Whitehill Welfare player Kerr Dodds to score in the 20th minute.[20][21] McCarthy has a connection with the club through one of the Whitehill players, John Hall.[22]
McCarthy made his full international debut forSouth Africa in a friendly against theNetherlands on 4 June 1997.
Along with veteranEgyptian strikerHossam Hassan, McCarthy was the joint top scorer in the1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso with seven goals, including four in 13 minutes againstNamibia. In addition, he was named Player of the Tournament.
The1998 FIFA World Cup in France was the first time South Africa's national football team had reached the later stages of the competition, and McCarthy was one of their key players. After a 3–0 defeat against eventual championsFrance, South Africa played their second match againstDenmark. Trailing since the 13th minute, McCarthy tied the game at 1–1 in the 52nd minute and gave South Africa a chance for qualification after a 1–1 draw. However, the third match also ended in a draw, againstSaudi Arabia, which left the South Africans in third place and eliminated from the competition.
The2002 World Cup saw history repeating for the South Africans. After a 2–2 draw againstParaguay and a 1–0 victory overSlovenia, McCarthy's 30th-minute equaliser in the last match againstSpain was not enough, as South Africa eventually lost 3–2 and finished with another third place in the group stage.
There was often conflict over McCarthy's lack of participation in national team matches (whose interests often collide with his club's) and he actually retired from international matches after the 2002 World Cup. However, he returned to the national team in 2004 and eventually set the record for most international goals for South Africa; McCarthy's strike in the second half of a 3–0 win against Paraguay in a 2008 friendly eclipsed the previous record of 29 goals held byShaun Bartlett.
Prior to the2010 World Cup, held in South Africa, McCarthy announced his support for the Gun-Free World Cup campaign being run by International Action Network on Small Arms. He said, "This World Cup will be the biggest in football history and the fact that it is taking place in South Africa is a chance for us to show the world everything that is good about our country. It's great that guns will be banned from stadiums – it's going to be a fantastic party, and guns have no place in that."[23] After struggling with his fitness and facing criticism in his nation for being overweight, McCarthy was omitted from the final South African 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, which was announced on 1 June 2010.[24]
Living inEdinburgh since 2013, McCarthy confirmed in April 2015, that he had joined the coaching staff ofAlan Stubbs at Scottish clubHibernian.[25] Stubbs had invited McCarthy so he could just learn the coaching side of things. McCarthy knew Stubbs back from their playing days when McCarthy was atBlackburn Rovers and Stubbs was atEverton. McCarthy said, that he was going to help out with the U20s, and assisting with the first team.
In February 2015, he did a short internship atSint-Truidense underYannick Ferrera. On 8 September 2015, McCarthy was appointed assistant manager to managerChris O'Loughlin, who replacedYannick Ferrera.[26] Working his way through the different tiers of the UEFA Coaching Badges system, McCarthy met O'Loughlin.
On 20 April 2016, McCarthy stopped working with Sint-Truiden for personal reasons, after it was previously announced that his contract was not renewed.[27]
On 13 June 2017, McCarthy was unveiled as the newCape Town City head coach,[28] replacingEric Tinkler, who moved to manageSuperSport United. McCarthy would complete hisUEFA Pro License while coaching City, and would win his first silverware as a coach in 2018 when he guided City to theMTN 8 cup.[29] On 4 November 2019, McCarthy was dismissed as head coach of Cape Town City after just two wins in 18 games.
On 14 December 2020, McCarthy was unveiled as the newAmaZulu head coach, replacingAyanda Dlamini, who stepped down from the position on 7 December 2020. He took the club to a second-place finish in theDStv Premiership, a record high for AmaZulu in the modern era of the game in South Africa. As a result, AmaZulu qualified for the preliminary rounds of the2021–22 CAF Champions League. McCarthy led AmaZulu to the group stages of the 2021–22 CAF Champions League in their debut season before exiting the competition. McCarthy and AmaZulu parted company on 25 March 2022.[30]
On 30 July 2022, McCarthy was appointed as a first-team coach atManchester United.[31] Benni McCarthy's contract with Manchester United ended on27 June 2024. McCarthy chose not to renew his two-year contract so he could return to being a head coach.
On Monday, 3rd March, 2025, Benni was unveiled as Kenya Football (men) team Head Coach[32][33] in an event graced by Kenya Olympic Committee President,Paul Tergat, FKF president Hussein Mohammed, his deputyMcDonald Mariga and Odibets GM Dedan M.[34][35][36]
In 2004, McCarthy married Maria Santos from Spain. They have three daughters together: Minna, Mya and Allegra. In 2007, they separated.[37] In May 2014, McCarthy married Scottish model Stacey Munro. Together, they have one daughter, Lima Rose, born 2012[38] and one son, Lio Romero, born in 2019.[39]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ajax | 1997–98 | Eredivisie | 17 | 9 | 1 | 0 | – | 5[c] | 1 | – | 23 | 10 | ||
| 1998–99 | Eredivisie | 19 | 11 | 1 | 0 | – | 5[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 11 | ||
| Total | 36 | 20 | 2 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 21 | |||
| Celta Vigo | 1999–2000 | La Liga | 31 | 8 | 4 | 2 | – | 10[c] | 6 | – | 45 | 16 | ||
| 2000–01 | La Liga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 6[c] | 0 | – | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 3[c] | 1 | – | 5 | 1 | |||
| 2002–03 | La Liga | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 5[c] | 3 | – | 19 | 5 | |||
| Total | 66 | 10 | 6 | 2 | – | 24 | 10 | – | 96 | 22 | ||||
| Porto (loan) | 2001–02 | Primeira Liga | 11 | 12 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 12 | 13 | |||
| Porto | 2003–04 | Primeira Liga | 29 | 20 | 5 | 1 | – | 11[d] | 4 | 2[e] | 0 | 47 | 25 | |
| 2004–05 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 11 | 1 | 0 | – | 8[d] | 3 | 3[f] | 0 | 35 | 14 | ||
| 2005–06 | Primeira Liga | 23 | 3 | 4 | 3 | – | 4[d] | 1 | – | 31 | 7 | |||
| Total | 86 | 46 | 11 | 5 | – | 23 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 124 | 58 | |||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2006–07 | Premier League | 36 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8[c] | 3 | – | 50 | 24 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 31 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4[c] | 2 | – | 38 | 11 | ||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 28 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 13 | |||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | – | – | 19 | 4 | |||
| Total | 109 | 37 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 5 | – | 140 | 52 | |||
| West Ham United | 2009–10 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 308 | 113 | 30 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 69 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 422 | 153 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 February 1998 | Stade Municipal,Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso |  Namibia | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1998 African Cup of Nations |
| 2 | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | 3–0 | |||||
| 4 | 4–0 | |||||
| 5 | 22 February 1998 | Stade Municipal,Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |  Morocco | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1998 African Cup of Nations |
| 6 | 25 February 1998 | Stade du 4 Août,Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |  DR Congo | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1998 African Cup of Nations |
| 7 | 2–1 | |||||
| 8 | 6 June 1998 | Sportanlage Baiersbronn,Baiersbronn, Germany |  Iceland | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 18 June 1998 | Stade de Toulouse,Toulouse, France |  Denmark | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup |
| 10 | 16 December 1998 | FNB Stadium,Johannesburg, South Africa |  Egypt | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 11 | 2–1 | |||||
| 12 | 27 February 1999 | Odi Stadium,Mabopane, South Africa |  Gabon | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2000 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 13 | 5 June 1999 | Kings Park Stadium,Durban, South Africa |  Mauritius | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2000 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 14 | 7 June 2000 | Cotton Bowl,Dallas, United States |  Mexico | 1–2 | 2–4 | Friendly |
| 15 | 11 June 2000 | Giants Stadium,New York City, United States |  Republic of Ireland | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 16 | 24 March 2001 | Telkom Park Stadium,Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Mauritius | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2002 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 17 | 5 May 2001 | FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa |  Zimbabwe | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 15 January 2002 | Mmabatho Stadium,Mafikeng, South Africa |  Angola | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 19 | 23 May 2002 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |  Turkey | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 2–0 | |||||
| 21 | 12 June 2002 | Daejeon World Cup Stadium,Daejeon, South Korea |  Spain | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
| 22 | 22 May 2003 | Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa |  England | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 23 | 15 November 2003 | Cairo International Stadium,Cairo, Egypt | Egypt | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 24 | 18 August 2004 | Tunis, Tunisia |  Tunisia | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 25 | 10 October 2004 | National Stadium,Kampala, Uganda |  Uganda | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 26 | 9 February 2005 | Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa |  Australia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 27 | 4 June 2005 | Estádio da Várzea,Praia, Cape Verde |  Cape Verde | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 28 | 7 September 2005 | Weserstadion,Bremen, Germany |  Germany | 2–3 | 2–4 | Friendly |
| 29 | 14 January 2006 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | Egypt | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 30 | 8 September 2007 | Newlands Stadium,Cape Town, South Africa |  Zambia | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 31 | 26 March 2008 | Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium,Pretoria, South Africa |  Paraguay | 2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 32 | 15 October 2008 | Free State Stadium,Bloemfontein, South Africa |  Ghana | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
As of 18 March 2022
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Cape Town City | 13 June 2017 | 3 November 2019 | 89 | 37 | 21 | 31 | 041.57 |
| AmaZulu | 14 December 2020 | 25 March 2022 | 60 | 23 | 22 | 15 | 038.33 |
| Total | 149 | 60 | 43 | 46 | 040.27 | ||
Ajax
Celta Vigo
Porto
Orlando Pirates
South Africa
Individual
Cape Town City
In 1998, McCarthy collaborated with South Africankwaito music groupTKZee in "Shibobo". The song released in the run-up to the 1998 World Cup in France samples greatly on "The Final Countdown" byEurope and features McCarthy rapping part of the lyrics. He also appears in thefootball-themed music video for the song. Sales of the single topped the 100,000 mark in just over a month in South Africa, making "Shibobo" the fastest and biggest selling CD single by TKZee or other South African recording artists. The song was also a hit in other African music charts. The song enjoyed a comeback in a re-release in 2010–11.
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