The crowd chanted his name as he left the pitch.
They don’t want him to change and neither do I.
That’s my take on the Benni McCarthy incident this week.
Since taking his first head coaching job in July, the Bafana Bafana legend has been the talk of the town.
He started his career with five wins in a row, got to the final of the MTN8, lost that match and seen some of his best players leave.
But his team is still in the race for the PSL title with the Nedbank Cup kicking off next month.
And through all of that, Benni has been his own man.
He has been learning on the job and doing things his way.
Like all of us, he will make mistakes and he certainly has.
Ahead of last Saturday’s red card, Benni had just been fined R50 000 for criticising match officials.
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And then of course there was the “ma se p... ” moment last year when he was caught on camera letting his Kaapse maniere get the better of him as he gave Ajax Cape Town’s Isaac Nhlapo a piece of his mind.
It seems like the Cape derby does something to him, because on Saturday he came close to laying hands on Ajax boss Muhsin Ertugral.
After being sent off in the iKapa derby on Saturday, lots of things were said about the Cape Town City boss.
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They said he was “baby”, they said he was too undisciplined. And yes he didn’t stick to the rules on Saturday by leaving his technical area.
Ertugral was right in saying that Benni needs to grow up. But he should never rein in the drive and passion that leads to these explosions.
The same “uitgelaatgeid” makes Benni a gift to the public and not least the press.
At his unveiling, where he was introduced to his famous hit “Shibobo”, Benni spoke about how he wants to turn his team into a side that beat opponents “six, seven-nil.
He is yet to achieve that.
Benni’s bek may be groot and he may get himself into trouble, but so does every soccer coach worth his salt.
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That same impulsiveness is what endears him to his fans and admirers.
After that first press conference, I said that Benni is a gift to the media.
And he keeps giving us the entertainment on and off the pitch us soccer fans crave.
So again I say: Benni, never change.