Benni McCarthy is out to hurt Kaizer Chiefs this weekend after the club he supported as a boy dissed him.
His Cape Town City host Amakhosi in a mouthwatering PSL clash at Cape Town Stadium, but Benni is adding extra spice to the glamour fixture on Saturday (3pm).
Ahead of the game, the Bafana Bafana legend explained to IOL why he is out to rub salt in the struggling Soweto giants’ wounds, with Chiefs still without a league win after five games this season.
Benni, reminiscing on his return to SA football in 2011, reveals: “Initially, after leaving England, I was going to go to play in the USA.
“But because I had never seen a Soweto derby, I went up to Joburg to watch the game.
“I guess what happened the night before was also important.
“I was at a restaurant and Bobby [Motaung] was at the same place. Afterwards there were all the rumours that Chiefs were trying to sign me.
“But Bobby’s comments were that I was finished, I was past my best, that I was washed up and that I wasn’t a big fish anymore.
“So I always had that in the back of my head, which is why I was happy to sign for Pirates – to show Chiefs how washed up I was; I would show them what a big fish looked like.”
Benni had the last laugh that time, leading Bucs to the treble, and this Saturday, he isn’t done bringing the pain down on Amakhosi.
He adds: “I guess still now you can say that whenever I play against Chiefs, even as a coach, they know I will be out to try to hurt them.”