A hero in Manchester, didn’t Benni McCarthy get the respect he deserves at home?
There was much talk of celebration and revelry among the South African soccer fraternity after Marc Rashford’s masterclass in Saturday’s Manchester Derby, with Benni McCarthy masterminding the triumph.
Indeed, the Bafana Bafana’s all-time leading goalscorer was hailed as the reason behind Rashford’s remarkable turnaround in fortunes, as the England striker has now scored eight goals in his last seven games.
McCarthy’s name was hailed on South African social media throughout the remainder of the weekend, with United’s attacking coach being identified as one of the key reasons why Rashford was so instrumental in the win over Manchester City.
However, there were also some South African fans who pointed out how the forward was not really appreciated as a manager in his homeland, acknowledging how blind the Rainbow Nation are to the talents of the ex-Orlando Pirates on the bench.
“International fans of Man United will not know that in his home country of South Africa Benni McCarthy was not valued by our clowns,” Khaya Sibulele Koko wrote on her username @khayakoko88. “The same with Pitso Mosimane.
“As a country, our soccer will not progress until the death of [Irvin] joza, [Danny] Jordan et al.”
Does the vocal user have a point?
It is true, on the one hand, that McCarthy was seldom celebrated as emphatically by the entire ZA football fraternity in his homeland as he has been in recent weeks and months following his behind-the-scenes work on Eric ten Hag and specifically working with Rashford.
He was sacked at both Cape TownCity and AmaZulu in his second season after promising starts and maiden campaigns at both employers.
With the former, he won silver but lost the faith of the club’s owners after just two wins in 18 matches, while his spell in Durban ended despite overseeing their Caf Champions League qualification.
A failure in communications was one of the reasons the former striker left AmaZulu, but perhaps, in retrospect, Benni should have been given more time to turn the club around… didn’t he at least deserve it? after your achievements? during his inaugural campaign?
Perhaps the rumors about Benni being difficult to work with contributed to his problems as PSL manager, perhaps objectively, the situation in which he left both clubs is evidence that it was right for him to be sacked.
Certainly the fact that he’s landed jobs at both CTC and AmaZulu suggests there’s been some faith in his qualities among South African club owners, so perhaps describing them as ‘clowns’ is a bit harsh.
However, if and when Benni seeks employment on home soil in the future, his job at Manchester United should ensure that he is held in higher esteem by his compatriots.
