Benni McCarthy: Bafana Bafana Legend Celebrates 44th Birthday, Career Highlights

Benni McCarthy is celebrating his 44th birthday on this day, Friday 12 November, the Cape Town-born legend is receiving all the sweet messages from fans and media publications from all over the world.

Briefly News saw it fit to also celebrate and honour this living legend with a beautiful story while also focusing on his career highlights. The former Bafana Bafana striker is now in charge of a DStv Premiership outfit, AmaZulu.

Taking a look at some of his career highlights, the Usuthu boss has tasted the UEFA Champions League, the Premier Soccer League as well as the MTN8 glory as a manager.

Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy celebrates 44th birthday

McCarthy launched his football career with Seven Stars under legendary Mzansi coach Gavin Hunt back in 1995 as a youngster. However, his big break in international ranks came in 1998 when he caught the eye of Jomo Sono who gave him a chance during the 1998 CAF African Cup of Nations tournament in Burkina Faso.

McCarthy raised eyebrows when he smashed four goals in 13 minutes against Namibia and that performance propelled him to a bright career in Europe. The lethal striker retired after the 2010 FIFA World Cup on home soil after failing to make the 23-man squad. He scored 31 goals out of 79 appearances.

Benni McCarthy makes influence in European football

The young Benni moved to Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam in 1997 and was later shipped out to Celta Vigo in Spain. At Celta he didn’t really make his mark because he netted 10 goals from 66 games. His next move came in the form of the Portuguese side, FC Porto and worked under Jose Mourinho.

The lad who grew up in Mother City regained his confidence and led the team to clinch the UEFA Champions League title. For Portugal’s finest, he found the back of the net on 34 occasions after playing in 74 matches.

After leaving the team in 2006, he continued with his globetrotting and went to the elite English Premier League. In England, he featured for a number of teams such as Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United. At Rovers, he played 109 games and scored 37 goals and with the Hammers, he didn’t really make a crucial contribution. He played 11 matches and didn’t score before returning home to join Orlando Pirates.

Benni McCarthy joins Orlando Pirates in 2011

With the Buccaneers, he did well and served as an inspiration in the dressing room for the Soweto giants. During his stint, he also netted vital goals in the Soweto Derby versus Kaizer Chiefs as well as lifting a league, MTN8 and Telkom Knockout Cup titles with the Mayfair outfit. McCarthy is still regarded as one of the finest finishers ever produced in Mzansi and it’s really an injustice he never lifted a continental title with Bafana.

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Football

Benni McCarthy launches coaching career with St Truiden in 2015

After undergoing some technical and intense training as a coach with UEFA, Benni began his career in Belgium before getting an opportunity at Cape Town City in 2017. With the Citizens, he impressed many football pundits with the modern style of play and gave Mamelodi Sundowns’ Pitso Mosimane a tough challenge. In 2018, he lifted the Wafa Wafa title to complete a double, as a coach and as a player. He would stay for two seasons at the helm and later parted ways with the club to join AmaZulu last season.

In his first season with the Durban-based club, he guided them to a second-place finish behind Sundowns and qualified for the CAF Champions League. In this years’ continental tournament, he could face top African sides such as Al Ahly or Masandawana in the group stages.

As Briefly News celebrate one of the best players in Mzansi, there’s no doubt he is blessed to see this day and hope to see many more, but his mission is to lift another trophy as a manager.

Benni McCarthy given a stunning car Worth just over R600k for stellar management

In a similar post on Benni, Briefly News posted that Benni McCarthy has been impressing as the coach of AmaZulu and this led to him being awarded a lovely new Mitsubishi car for his efforts.

Last season, in particular, was a memorable season for the club and they ended up qualifying for the CAF Champions League.

Benni is now guiding his team in the CAF Champions League, where they are vying for continental glory.

The Cape Town-born manager has risen quickly through the ranks of management, having led Cape Town City to an MTN8 title in 2018/19 and Usuthu to a second-place finish in the DStv Premiership according to a report by KickOff.