Bafana Bafana legend and former Manchester United strikers’ coach Benni McCarthy has finally spoken about some of his regrets in his glittering football career.
McCarthy is one of the best players South Africa has ever produced, and he remains the Bafana leading goalscorer of all times with 31 goals after 80 games.
McCarthy is in the country as the ambassador of the Carling Black Label Cup. The 47-year-old, who took up coaching after retiring, previously coached Cape Town City and AmaZulu.
He also took a giant leap when he was roped in by English Premiership League (EPL) giants Manchester United as the striker’s coach.
McCarthy started his playing career as a teenager in the notorious Cape Flats, where he played for Cape Town Spurs, then Seven Stars before securing a move abroad to Ajax Amasterdam
Impressive international club career
He was later in the books of Celta Vigo, FC Porto (both in Portugal), Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United in the English Premier League.
“I most probably underachieved; not that I am selling myself short, but I could have done better and achieved more, especially with Bafana Bafana. There was a lot of sourness and bitterness with the national team,” said the outspoken McCarthy.
“I made 80 appearances for Bafana, and I should have played 120 games, or about 150. Maybe should have scored between 70-80 goals. But all that went missing because of the club versus country and with people saying that Benni does not want to play for SA but nobody was never in my corner.
“If you were faced with what I faced, you would have known. I was misunderstood as well, and I am gutted that I did not fully play to my potential for Bafana,” added McCarthy.
The Cape Town-born striker, who rounded off his career at Orlando Pirates in the PSL in 2013, explained further: “Chelsea wanted to sign me when I was at Porto and also when I was at Blackburn Rovers, but it never materialised because the clubs did not want to sell me or let me go.
“I think that I would have been part of that great Chelsea team and would have formed a partnership with Didier Drogba because, at that stage of my career, I was one of the best African players. It was myself, Samuel Eto’o and Drogba came afterwards, and at that time, there was not a lot of African players at the level that I was reaching. I am happy with what I achieved but somehow I am not happy I did not achieve my full potential,” he added.
