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Benni McCarthy

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

Benni McCarthy, a South African soccer player, warming up before a match in 2010.

Benedict Saul McCarthy, born on 12 November 1977, is a South African professional soccer coach and a former player. He is now the manager of the Kenya national football team. During his playing career, McCarthy was a forward and became the South Africa national team's all-time top scorer with 31 goals.

McCarthy achieved a major milestone by becoming the only South African to win the UEFA Champions League, which he did while playing for Porto. He is widely considered one of the greatest South African players ever.

In addition to his playing career, McCarthy has experience as a coach. He has served as the head coach for South African Premier Division teams like Cape Town City and AmaZulu. He also worked as a striker's coach for the famous Premier League club Manchester United.

Early life

Benni McCarthy was born in Cape Town and grew up in Hanover Park in the Cape Flats. He is the son of Dudley and Dora McCarthy and has two brothers and a sister. His older brother is Jerome McCarthy, a former professional footballer who played for Kaizer Chiefs and Manning Rangers, among other clubs, while his younger brother Mark played football at Franklin Pierce University in the United States.

McCarthy started playing football at a local side called Young Pirates, which was managed by his uncles. He then joined the youth structures of a local amateur club called Crusaders. At age 17, he was signed by first division club Seven Stars.

Club career

After starting his career with Seven Stars, McCarthy moved to Ajax Cape Town, then joined Ajax in 1997, where he won the league in his first season. He later played for Celta Vigo in Spain but was loaned to Porto, where he helped the team improve and qualify for Europe.

McCarthy returned to Porto permanently and had a great season in 2003–04, scoring many goals and helping Porto win the UEFA Champions League. He then moved to Blackburn Rovers in England, where he became a top scorer. Later, he played for West Ham United but left after a short time. He ended his career in South Africa with Orlando Pirates, winning another league title and becoming the first South African to win league championships with clubs in three different countries.

International career

See also: List of international goals scored by Benni McCarthy

Benni McCarthy began playing for the South Africa national team in 1997, scoring in a friendly match against the Netherlands. He was one of the top scorers in the 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso, scoring seven goals. That same year, he helped South Africa reach the later stages of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where they came close to advancing but ended up third in their group.

McCarthy returned to the national team in 2004 and became South Africa's all-time top scorer with 31 goals. Although he was not chosen for the 2010 World Cup held in his home country, he supported efforts to keep stadiums safe and gun-free during the event.

Managerial career

Benni McCarthy began his coaching career by joining the coaching staff of Scottish club Hibernian in 2015, where he helped with the U20 team and assisted the first team.

He later worked at Sint-Truiden in Belgium and became the head coach of Cape Town City in South Africa, winning the MTN 8 cup in 2018. He then coached AmaZulu, leading them to a second-place finish in the DStv Premiership and qualifying for the 2021–22 CAF Champions League.

In 2022, McCarthy joined Manchester United as a striker’s coach but left in 2024 to return to head coaching. Most recently, on 3 March 2025, he became the head coach of the Kenya national football team.

Personal life

Benni McCarthy married Maria Santos from Spain in 2004, and they had three daughters named Minna, Mya, and Allegra. They separated in 2007. In May 2014, he married Scottish model Stacey Munro, and they have a daughter named Lima Rose, born in 2012, and a son named Lio Romero, born in 2019.

In popular culture

In 1998, McCarthy worked with a South African music group called TKZee on a song titled "Shibobo". This song came out just before the 1998 World Cup in France. The music used parts of another popular song called "The Final Countdown" by a band named Europe. McCarthy even rapped some of the words in the song and appeared in the music video. The song became very popular, selling over 100,000 copies in just a month in South Africa. It was one of the best-selling songs by any South African artist at that time. The song became popular again when it was released once more in 2010–11.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McCarthy goal.

Managerial

As of 18 March 2022

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ajax1997–98Eredivisie17910–51–2310
1998–99Eredivisie191110–50002511
Total362020–101004821
Celta Vigo1999–2000La Liga31842–106–4516
2000–01La Liga19020–60–270
2001–02La Liga2000–31–51
2002–03La Liga14200–53–195
Total661062–2410–9622
Porto (loan)2001–02Primeira Liga111211–––1213
Porto2003–04Primeira Liga292051–114204725
2004–05Primeira Liga231110–83303514
2005–06Primeira Liga23343–41–317
Total8646115–2385012458
Blackburn Rovers2006–07Premier League3618531083–5024
2007–08Premier League318102142–3811
2008–09Premier League28105300––3313
2009–10Premier League1410053––194
Total1093711684125–14052
West Ham United2009–10Premier League500000––50
2010–11Premier League600030––90
Total1100030––140
Career total3081133013114692450422153
List of international goals scored by Benni McCarthy
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
116 February 1998Stade Municipal, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso Namibia1–04–01998 African Cup of Nations
22–0
33–0
44–0
522 February 1998Stade Municipal, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Morocco1–02–11998 African Cup of Nations
625 February 1998Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso DR Congo1–12–11998 African Cup of Nations
72–1
86 June 1998Sportanlage Baiersbronn, Baiersbronn, Germany Iceland1–01–1Friendly
918 June 1998Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse, France Denmark1–11–11998 FIFA World Cup
1016 December 1998FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Egypt1–12–1Friendly
112–1
1227 February 1999Odi Stadium, Mabopane, South Africa Gabon4–14–12000 African Cup of Nations qualification
135 June 1999Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa Mauritius2–02–02000 African Cup of Nations qualification
147 June 2000Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States Mexico1–22–4Friendly
1511 June 2000Giants Stadium, New York City, United States Republic of Ireland1–01–2Friendly
1624 March 2001Telkom Park Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Mauritius1–03–02002 African Cup of Nations qualification
175 May 2001FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Zimbabwe2–02–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
1815 January 2002Mmabatho Stadium, Mafikeng, South Africa Angola1–01–0Friendly
1923 May 2002Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong Turkey1–02–0Friendly
202–0
2112 June 2002Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea Spain1–12–32002 FIFA World Cup
2222 May 2003Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa England1–11–2Friendly
2315 November 2003Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Egypt1–01–2Friendly
2418 August 2004Tunis, Tunisia Tunisia1–02–0Friendly
2510 October 2004National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda Uganda1–01–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
269 February 2005Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa Australia1–01–1Friendly
274 June 2005Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde Cape Verde1–02–12006 FIFA World Cup qualification
287 September 2005Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany Germany2–32–4Friendly
2914 January 2006Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Egypt2–12–1Friendly
308 September 2007Newlands Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa Zambia1–31–32008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3126 March 2008Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa Paraguay2–03–0Friendly
3215 October 2008Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa Ghana1–12–1Friendly
TeamFromToRecord
GWDLWin %
Cape Town City13 June 20173 November 201989372131041.57
AmaZulu14 December 202025 March 202260232215038.33
Total149604346040.27

Honours

Player

Ajax

Celta Vigo

Porto

Orlando Pirates

South Africa

Individual

Manager

Cape Town City

  • MTN 8: (/wiki/2018_MTN_8)

Discography

Singles

In 1998, there was a song called "Shibobo" by TKZee that featured Benni McCarthy.

Related articles

FC Porto
Cape Town City F.C. (2016)
AmaZulu F.C.
Kenya national football team
South Africa national football team
UEFA Champions League

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