Seven
Stars (South Africa), Ajax Amsterdam (Holland), Cape Town (South
Africa), Ajax Amsterdam (Holland), Celta Vigo (Spain), FC Porto
(Portugal), Celta Vigo (Spain), FC Porto (Portugal)
Honours
1998
Amstel Cup
Dutch League
Dutch Supercup
African Nations Cup Golden Boot
MVP for African Nations Cup
1999
Amstel Cup
2004
UEFA Champions League
Portuguese League
Portuguese Super Cup
Portuguese League Golden Boot
Biography
Benedict McCarthy, known as Benni McCarthy, born 12
November 1977 in Cape Town, South Africa is a professional
footballer, currently playing for Portuguese side FC Porto and
the South Africa national football team.
Playing for Seven Stars, the 18-year old McCarthy scored 27
goals in 29 games in the 1995/96 season, followed by another 12
goals in 20 matches, which earned him a transfer to Cape Town
Spurs which two years later merged with Seven Stars to form Ajax
Amsterdam farm team Ajax Cape Town. In 1997, after an impressive
showing at the African Youth Cup he joined the Dutch side, where
he scored 9 goals and was crowned champion in his first season.
After a relatively successful 1998/99 season he was sold to
Spanish side Celta Vigo for a sum reported to be over €6M, at
the time the most expensive transfer for a South African player.
Although regarded as one of the best African players at the
time, McCarthy never established himself as a regular choice for
Celta Vigo's manager, Víctor Fernández. After two poor seasons
at the Galician club, he was loaned to struggling FC Porto in
the 2001-02season where he soon rediscovered the form that took
him to Europe. At Porto he played under the then newly-appointed
coach José Mourinho, and an underperforming team that was who
were never quite good enough to challenge for the top honours in
Europe. That would soon change. Before he became a regular in
the team he had to represent Bafana Bafana in the 2002 African
Nations Cup. After returning from the national duty where his
side were knocked out in the semi finals he returned to Porto.
There he was the main force behind the team's recovery which got
them to third place in the league and automatic qualification
for the UEFA Cup, scoring an impressive 12 goals in only 10
matches, but Porto's finances did not allow them to keep the
player, despite the desire of both sides to continue.
In 2002-03 he returned to Celta Vigo but spent a lot of time on
the bench where he was seen more as squad player. At the same
time Porto captured the League Cup in Portugal and the UEFA Cup.
When former teammate Hélder Postiga was sold to English side
Tottenham Hotspur in the 2003-2004 season, Porto acquired the
funds to buy McCarthy for a sum of €3.5 M.
At his return, he not only found club morale at its highest for
years, but also a highly organized team with some of the best
Portuguese players. He managed to grab the golden boot award (with
20 goals in 23 games) at the final day with a terrific hat-trick,
and was instrumental in Porto's superb run in the 2004 UEFA
Champions League, which they won. Notably, he was responsible
for scoring two goals against Manchester United to defeat them
in the second round.
As Mourinho left and was (shortly) replaced by Italian coach
Luigi Del Neri, McCarthy thought of leaving for the Premier
League, but the two years left in his contract remained a
problem. When the Italian was fired and replaced by his former
Celta coach Fernandez (who he said he'd rather quit playing than
be coached again) he tried to pressure Porto to sell him to
Everton F.C., who had sold Wayne Rooney to Manchester United and
needed a replacement. Porto refused, and the tension between
both seemingly vanished as Fernandez praised McCarthy as a world
class striker. Despite this thawing of relations, rumours
continue to abound as to which Premiership club McCarthy will
find himself at eventually, with West Ham United and Blackburn
Rovers being mooted as possible destinations.
The 1998 Football World Cup in France was the debut of South
Africa's national football team, and McCarthy (then on Ajax) was
presented as one of the key players. After a no-chance 3-0 loss
against future World Champions France, South Africa played their
second game against Denmark. Trailing since the 13th minute,
McCarthy tied the game 1-1 at the passage of the 52nd minute,
scoring the first goal of the South African national team on a
final stage and giving a chance for qualification. However, the
third game also resulted on a draw (against Saudi Arabia), which
left the South Africans in third place and outside the
competition.
In the Korea/Japan World Cup he saw history repeating. After a
2-goal draw against Paraguay, followed by a 1-0 win over the
Slovenians, in the last game against Spain his 30th minute
equalizer was not enough, and the 2-3 defeat meant another third
place in the group stage.
Although there was much conflict over his participation in
national team matches (whose interests often collide with the
clubs'), and actually left after the 2002 World Cup, he returned
to the national team in 2004. As of October 2005, he and Shaun
Bartlett are joint leading goalscorers for the national team
with 28 each. (Since both are still active, the lead may yet
change several times.)
