Benni

By Benni McCarthy and Mark Gleeson

McCarthy is South Africa’s most successful footballer. He is the all-time top scorer for Bafana Bafana. He is the country’s only UEFA Champions League winner, and he is now forging a successful career as a coach.

Benni has gone from growing up in the ganglands of the Cape Flats to playing at some of the biggest arenas in sport. He moved from South Africa as a teenager and became a much-prized player at clubs in the Netherlands, Spain and England. He was the top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations finals, and he also found the back of the net at the World Cup. In addition, he helped FC Porto and their fabled coach José Mourinho win the top club prize in world football.

An influence in African football

Since hanging up his boots, Benni has embarked on a coaching career. He has won silverware in South Africa and then joined the coaching staff at Manchester United. He is now building a national team for Kenya as they prepare to host the 2027 Cup of Nations tournament. Benni continues to shape young players and influence African football from the technical area.

Overcoming formidable obstacles has been the hallmark of Benni’s career. He defied neighbourhood gang bosses, a series of vindictive coaches and self-serving South African football administrators.

Benni’s defiant approach to officialdom often landed him in hot water, but he has always stayed true to his principles. As a result, he developed a love-hate relationship with Bafana Bafana that has never been properly explained, until now. Benni remains one of the most outspoken and principled figures in South African football.

I know about Benni and his background and the way he has fought through adversity, but in the end, I think it is about the person, about the player, about the way they take on life.

– José Mourinho

About the authors

Benni McCarthy is a renowned South African football coach and former striker. Many regard him as one of Africa’s most successful players in Europe. He won the UEFA Champions League with FC Porto in 2004 under José Mourinho and enjoyed prolific spells in Portugal, England and the Netherlands.

McCarthy is South Africa’s all-time leading goal scorer and represented Bafana Bafana in multiple AFCON tournaments and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. After retiring, he transitioned into coaching and served in high-profile roles, including striker coach at Manchester United and head coach of AmaZulu FC.

Mark Gleeson has been writing and broadcasting about football in South Africa and the wider continent for the last four decades. He has worked for all the major newspaper groups, launched the magazine Kick Off and did television commentary for South Africa’s first World Cup appearance in 1998.

He is also a long-standing correspondent on African football for various international publications and agencies. In addition, he has worked at eight World Cups and fourteen Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. Benni and Mark worked closely together in the interviews, research and writing of this definitive biography.