Johannesburg - Benni McCarthy's career has made his name synonymous with passion. So much so that the AmaZulu coach says when his team faces any of his former employers, there’s extra passion that doesn’t allow him to hold back – to any invitation.
McCarthy, as a player, didn’t shy away from standing up for himself or speaking his mind - albeit how uncomfortable that may have been.
But even as a coach, McCarthy hasn’t deviated from his beliefs. Such that he’s stood up for his players and technical team who’ve, in return, fought for him on the pitch by getting the results – such as finishing second on the log last term.
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In his last season as a player, he wore his heart on his sleeve at Orlando Pirates, inspiring them to a domestic treble – the league, MTN8 and Telkom Knockout. And that’s why coaching against Pirates propels him to excel even more.
“Myself and my team are born competitors. With every game that we play, we don’t take anything granted, we want to win. When I played for Pirates, I played with everything, my heart and soul,” the Bafana all-time top goal scorer explained.
“Now I am at AmaZulu, or any team that I coach, I give the same commitment. Unfortunately, for the team that I played for, I want to do it even more. When I meet Pirates, I want to win wholeheartedly. That's why there’s more passion involved.
“And sometimes, the passion turns (into a brawl). When you win, they want to fight. And that’s where we don't sit-back, we accept the invitation. But it’s all love after the game. we have a lot of respect for each other - the coach and the club.”
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On Sunday, McCarthy will return to Orlando Stadium with his troops where’ll face the Bucs in the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup. McCarthy, though, leads a brigade of army that will want to prove a point against one of the big three teams.
In McCarthy’s technical team and playing personnel, some of these former Sea Robbers are Moneeb Josephs, Luvuyo Memela, Augustine Mulenga and Xola Mlambo. And that's why McCarthy says they are already self-motivated to win.
“The commitment is there because they know they’ll be chased back to where they came from if I don’t see it in training. I think they are also professional enough to know that when the spotlight is there it’s a big stage,” the 44-year-old said.
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“So, who better to perform against the team that probably told you that you were not good enough or for whatever reason you were given your clearance? So which team takes you, and you come up against them, you have a point to prove.”
Despite some of these players having a point to prove “that Pirates made a mistake by letting them go and are happy at AmaZulu”, they’ll know that doing well in the Nedbank Cup last will boost their preparations for the Champions League.
Usuthu will play in their first ever group stage of the Champions League this term. They are in group B, alongside Horoya, Raja Casablanca and ES Setif. And that’s they’ll be eager to hit the ground running away to Morrocans, Raja, on Saturday.
@MihlaliBaleka