Local Soccer

Benni reveals coaching ambitions after United exit

Benni McCarthy says he wants to be a head coach again, and is keen to lead a team at the Fifa Club World Cup.

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McCarthy is available for hire after leaving his job as Manchester United attacking coach ahead of the start of the new English Premier League season.

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“After leaving United, the passion for wanting to be a head coach again, that is the next step for me,” said McCarthy in an interview with CNN International.

Benni wants African powerhouse

“To go back to Africa to manage one of the big teams (there), one of the important teams, with the knowledge I have gained, that would be amazing. To manage a team on the continent, trying to make them one of the powerhouses of African football.

“But also to try and … play in the Club World Cup. My aim is to do that or … the MLS (the USA’s top league) interests me a lot. I would welcome opportunities like that.

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“I think I have got what it takes to manage there. I can make players better and help a team achieve their goals, that maybe they have not achieved in the last few years. It is just about getting the opportunity.”

McCarthy has also said that in the long term, he would still like to coach Bafana Bafana.

Benni still hopes for Bafana job

The senior national team’s record goalscorer was in talks over the job with the South African Football Association, before they ultimately appointed Hugo Broos in 2021.

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“If given the opportunity, I think I can do a sterling job,” McCarthy told CNN.

“I would bleed for my country because it’s the country I was born in, so I would feel it as much as every single South African […] when you don’t qualify for World Cups.

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“I would feel their pain with them. So, for me, to want to succeed so that I can bring joy to the hearts of these people would be the biggest thing that you can get.

“It’s the highest honor from my point of view to manage your country, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

After leaving United, the passion for wanting to be a head coaxch again, that is the next step for me.

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By Jonty Mark