Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy landed the job of his dreams as he was named Manchester United first-team coach on Saturday.
A statement released by the club reads: “Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has added to his backroom team with the appointment of Benni McCarthy as a first-team coach.
“The former South Africa striker was a boyhood Reds fan and scored twice against us for Porto in the 2003/04 Champions League knockout stages.”
Welcoming a new face to our coaching team...
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 30, 2022
Great to have you on board, @BenniMcCarthy17 👊#MUFC
The 44-year-old McCarthy “will specialise in coaching attacking plays and positioning” after being the head coach at Cape Town City and AmaZulu in the PSL.
A lewenslange Man United fan, McCarthy says of the appointment: “I support Man United and always wanted to play for them. I loved players like Mark Hughes, Andy Cole and Ryan Giggs.”
McCarthy, who famously scored twice to knock out the Red Devils en route to 2003/04 Champions League with Porto under Jose Mourinho, recalls: “I was heartbroken to score twice. My dream was to score once at Old Trafford - not to knock United out.
“[Mourinho] told me that if I didn’t cheer up, I’d never play in his team again.”
McCarthy also has Premier League experience, having turned out for Blackburn Rovers and West Ham.
While at Rovers he finished second top scorer in the 2006/07 season, with 18 goals.
As a coach, he holds a Uefa Pro Licence and speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese.
The Hanover Park hero’s first big assignment at the club is getting Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the attackers sharp for Saturday’s Premier League opener against Brighton at Old Trafford.