A distraught Manchester United fan said after that nil-all draw against Southampton on Sunday(12/3/23)– “Weghorst needs to move in with Benni McCarthy, because we need to nail down that finishing!”
Apart from the comment highlighting the reasonable disappointment that result on Sunday was for United faithfuls, somewhat hidden in the above quote is the regard the writer has for Benni McCarthy's work. Shall we examine it a little here.
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It is clear that everything in the United attack has changed since the coming of Benni.
I recall confronting one white South African in the internet, who was talking down on Benni Mccarthy as a coach(then he was coaching a South African club). His complain was that Benni disobeyed his contract or something similar,as a player for West Ham, so he's a bad role model for players as a coach– since things like player contracts is part of a coach's job brief.
I asked him, if there has been any fault in Benni's character so far as a coach. He refused to answer. Again I asked him, why an error from the past would be used to label someone unfairly, when he is doing well as a coach and there has been no immoral conduct reported of him. He replied that, it seems I believe so much in forgiveness, that he isn't that sentimental. I put my foot down and insisted on knowing why he has ought against a person, for an offence he reportedly committed in the past and now has changed and is doing so well as a coach. He obviously didn't have an answer other than saying, people should suffer the consequences of their indiscretions. I was like, he that is perfect should cast the first stone.
THE JOURNEY
As a player, Benni Mccarthy had quite a remarkable career. He is the only South African player to have ever won the European Cup/Champions League by being a key part of that crack FC Porto side coached by legendary, Jose Mourinho.
He had also enjoyed earlier success with Ajax. He was known for being deadly in the penalty-box. He attracted the attention Blackburn Rovers in the EPL and painted England with goals. West Ham United signed him in 2010, when was 32-years by which time injuries and then weight gain were incessant disturbances. He finally moved to play and his homeland and retired there.
He was indeed one of Africa’s most feared forwards, claiming both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball, in the 1998 African cup of nations. Outstanding! He also participated actively in two Mundials for South Africa and he remains South Africa’s all-time top scorer.
THE COACHING BENNI
In his homeland another chapter of his life began- Benni the coach. He took over a club called Amazulu(fondly called,Usuthu), a minnow in the top flight and that narrowly missed relegation by whiskers the previous season and transformed them to title contenders. His brand of fotball was enterprising, with a great show of character. He himself said then,
"We are all enjoying what we are doing. There is healthy competition among players and I am happy about it...I have managed to change the mindset of my players, I have instilled the winning mentality... we want to be consistent in winning games. We do not want to be one-season wonders..."
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He certainly had the right kind of mindset Mr. Ten Hag, Manchester United's manager, was looking for and he brought him in to work with the forward line on attacking plays and positioning. Benni was eager to help too and it's therefore no coincidence that the performance of forwards have drastically improved. Look at Rashford for example becoming unplayable many times, even Martial doing much better when truly fit and all others too.
Even when people try to downplay Rashford's form saying that under Solksjaer tenure of nearly 3 years, he scored 50 goals. We can remind them that under Solksjaer, Rashford's goals were mainly spectacular dribbles and youthful exuberance. But now, he looks more and more like a cold-hearted killer.
He is very deadly without doing too much, a very Benni-like trait!
Fact is, the 25-year-old has looked a completely different player from the one that failed to score in any of his last 15 games in the previous campaign. His confidence on the ball is palpable and you can see he is enjoying playing football once again. He's currently on a personal record 24 goals(as at February), each strike has been followed by a now trademark celebration, with a finger to his head.
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Maybe it's nice to end with this show of humility. When praised for his work, he deflects it to the manager. That's attractive and classy indeed. Did you notice the "I've got him in the right place" with Benni placing one finger 👉 on his head? That's thesame way Rashford does it when he scores. It is clear Benni worked heavily on the mentality of the player.
So as in Amazulu in South Africa, Mr. Benni Mccarthy is doing wonders in England. Perhaps a lesson on forgiveness is before us afterall. Don't throw away the baby with the bath water.
Cheers