Coach Benni – Destined for Success

Hundreds of stories have been written about the footballing career of Benni McCarthy. Let’s face it, Benni is a South African legend. From being a scrawny teenage sensation at Seven Stars to his swan song as a veteran at Orlando Pirates, and everything that happened in between.

I arrived in Cape Town in the early nineties, and it was the perfect timing, just in time to see the young Benni emerge. I followed his movements eagerly throughout his career. It was a wild ride. From the Cape Flats to Amsterdam; to Spain, to Portugal; back to Spain, and back to Portugal; to England; and finally to Soweto. He won his fair share of silverware during this time, most notably lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy.

And there were all the Bafana Bafana adventures. Benni is of course still the leading goalscorer for South Africa. He won the Golden Boot at the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations and played (and scored) at two World Cup Finals. Oh, and he also went to the Olympics, let’s not forget that or the Kwaito songs with TKZee.But this isn’t one of those stories. As I said, there are plenty of them out there. This is a story of Benni McCarthy the coach, and how he went from a rookie to being one of the most exciting coaches I’ve seen, and in a very short space of time.

An Opportunity Opens Up

When Eric Tinkler resigned from Cape Town City in 2017, it shook the club. After their successful debut season, the club had won the Telkom Knockout, and Tinkler had led City to an impressive third in the Absa Premiership, it was expected he’d carry on at the Cape Town club.

To be honest it didn’t surprise me as much. Tinkler was offered the SuperSport United job, and he is an ambitious coach. If I remember correctly before he came to City, there had also been media reports linking Tinkler to a move to Portugal. I think that this may have intrigued him. Tinkler had mentioned those European ambitions before.

“That’s what I would like, but the harsh reality is, and I’m probably going to say things that a lot of people won’t like, but our league is not really recognised around the world,” Tinkler said at the end of the previous season.

“So for us as a South African coach to get there, winning the PSL is not going to do that, the harsh reality is that you’re going to have to prove yourself by going into Africa. That’s why I believe that being involved in Confed or Champions League, that can really put your name out there, into the European market. That is my ambition, would love to see myself one day coaching in Europe, and I think every coach, Gavin would probably tell you the same, he’d love to be there, all of them, but it’s a question of how do we get there?”

Organized Chaos

As a club, SuperSport is a well-oiled machine, and it was probably a calculated decision for Tinkler. While there was success on the field at City, it had often been tumultuous off the field. It was organised chaos. City didn’t have fixed training grounds, so at times throughout the season, it was week-by-week organising, moving across the city to any field they could. Let’s not forget that Cape Town was also going through a drought, so it was actually amazing work by John Comitis and his staff. I don’t recall the team ever not having somewhere to train.

And of course, Tinkler couldn’t guarantee a repeat of the success, especially as it was expected that City would sell their star players, Manyama and Ngoma. So when comparing the two environments, it would have been an easy choice to go with SuperSport and their strong structures. Oh, and there was a large salary increase. I think eight out of 10 people would have made Tinkler’s choice on that alone. But it still hurt everyone at City. They believed Tinkler had bought into their long-term vision.

Banking on Benni

It was Michel Comitis, John’s son, who is part of the management of the club, who threw Benni’s name into the pot. If there is one footballer in South Africa who has an enigma about him it is Benni. He has a larger-than-life personality that matches his talent. He is also a big name, especially in Cape Town. I think Michel saw the bigger picture. Benni’s presence at the club alone would make a difference. Players admire him, fans admire him, even rivals admire him! While it was obviously a big gamble, not knowing his coaching ability, it was a calculated gamble.

City’s success in their first season had taken people by surprise, and they had gained Cape Town’s attention. The club needed to build on that momentum, and Benni’s celebrity status, if it did work, was just the Ace up their sleeve. Benni didn’t have much coaching experience. But he had started to do his UEFA badges in Scotland, where he and his family reside, and had helped out at Hibernian for a time.

In 2015 he took a job as an assistant manager at Belgian side Sint-Truiden, assisting Chris O’Loughlin, a former Pirates assistant, who had also worked at SuperSport. Unfortunately, it didn’t go too well on the field, and they finished 13th. Their contracts were not renewed for the following season. So yes, gambling on Benni as a coach seemed high stakes. But City still had the experienced Ian Taylor at the club. The entire backroom staff apart from Tinkler would be unchanged.

Before this, I had personally hoped that Benni would get another job in Europe, as I have always really wanted to see a South African coach do something abroad. I felt it was guys like Benni, Quinton Fortune, Lucas Radebe – ex-players with high profiles in Europe – who could make that step. But when Benni was unveiled by City, I was delighted. I knew that no matter how well he did, or how long he stayed, it was going to be fun.

“Look I have the self-belief,” Benni said on his arrival, “and I trust myself, and I trust my work ethic and what I can give. I am sure that I am going to have the respect and the trust of the players to eventually want to go out there and achieve exactly the same goals I have.”

First Impressions

Watching those first few weeks of Benni in charge was interesting. He is a polar opposite character to Tinkler, and the players looked at him differently. While there was always a clear hierarchy with Tinkler, Benni is very young at heart, and so there was definitely less of a generation gap, and he was always laughing and joking with the players. He also threw himself into their sessions, and to be honest, apart from the extra pounds, looked like he could still be playing. Some of the best goals I saw at those early training sessions were scored by the coach. I personally really enjoyed watching Benni work. Because of his relaxed personality, one might assume that Benni is like that all the time. But he puts in the effort. I started to realise that his strong work ethic is probably the biggest reason as to why he succeeded as a player. While his talent was prodigious, he never took it for granted, and it is a lesson that many South African players could learn from. While it always looked like he was having fun, it was because Benni enjoyed his work.

While some would say Benni’s confidence borders on arrogance, it’s actually what I call a healthy self-confidence. He believes in his abilities, but to be honest he hardly talks about himself. Benni likes to praise others and boost their egos, and he does it with gusto. I have spoken to so many players who have had their confidence boosted by Benni and not just those he’s coached. My first interaction with Benni was a few years before when I spoke to him about Mark Mayambela, who he had been team-mates with at Pirates. Benni enthused about Mark’s abilities and couldn’t understand why he wasn’t utilised properly at clubs. Honestly, over the years I’ve interacted with dozens of arrogant people, Benni isn’t one of them. Yes, there is a bravado about him, but let’s not forget he has grown up in a testosterone-fueled football world.
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At first, it was evident that he was using the coaching experience around him, taking it all in, and learning from them. He listened a lot and praised everyone around him. It’s something that I observed about Benni quite quickly. Benni actually listens. He might not react immediately, but he hears what people are saying, and takes it in. While he may or may not agree with opinions, he does process it. He knew that he was a rookie, and didn’t have all the answers, so he especially listened to those with new information.

“Yeh we’re young, we’re ambitious guys and I think Ian Taylor is a delight to have. Our paths crossed when we were younger, we played at the same sort of level, the same path, so it’s nice to be able to share stories of where we’ve been, what we’ve been through, the struggles, and now we’re here. So he’s done well for such a young guy to be where he is, so I think we bounce quite nicely off each other.”

Selfless Benni

And then there was also the factor of Benni’s presence, and personality, and it was clear that the players looked up to him. They wanted to impress him, and that always makes a coach’s job easier. Apart from doing his coaching job, he was wanted for every marketing opportunity and public appearance.

I have never seen a person pose for so many selfies with fans and passers-by. Everywhere that Benni went he was surrounded by people. People started showing up outside training and watching and waiting for an opportunity to see Benni. This was also the first time Benni had spent a lot of time in his hometown in almost two decades, so this homecoming saw him re-connect with people.

Getting to Grips With Coaching Demands

Coaching a team in the PSL is not a nine to five job, and especially with a Chairman like John Comitis. John is one of those around-the-clock people. He’s a busy man, in meetings all the time, a real mover and shaker. And while he doesn’t interfere at the training ground, and lets coaches do their thing, he is known to call at 11 pm and invite the coach for a coffee to talk. I have even interviewed him later than that in the past, it is just how John operates. As a player (and even as an assistant in Europe) Benni was used to having a lot more free time, and I think it was all a little overwhelming at first.

City did lose Manyama as he moved to Konyaspor in Turkey, and while Ngoma would only leave later, he was injured and missing for much of the season. But with the arrival of Teko Modise and Ayanda Patosi, expectations remained high. In fact, with Benni’s confidence and the success from the previous season, the club’s expectations as a whole had changed. A year before it was survival, now it was success. And everything started falling into place on the field. He won his first five games in all competitions, and City found themselves in the MTN8 Final after good wins against Bidvest Wits in the two-legged semi-finals. It looked like Benni was taking to this coaching thing like a duck to water.

Who Wrote the Script?

At first Tinkler’s move to SuperSport United looked like a match made in heaven too. He had the team performing well in the CAF Confederations Cup group stages. They were getting good results in the league, and he also led the team to the MTN8 Final. Obviously, this is where he would meet Benni and his former team. “No one could have written a better script than this,” Tinkler said. “A lot of people are looking forward to the final because of that sub-plot. But it’s not about me, it’s about the club.”

Having taken an early lead through Sibusiso Masina, the final looked to be heading City’s way, but Thabo Mnyamane scored a late equaliser to force extra time. Despite tiring legs, SuperSport hung on as City rued their missed chances, and it went to a penalty shoot and SuperSport prevailed. Benni just missed out on his first trophy, while Tinkler won his second, and first with his new club.

Waves of Change at City

At the end of 2017, Ian Taylor decided to leave the club to take up an opportunity in China. Calvin Marlin joined Ajax Cape Town as Muhsin Ertugral’s assistant. Vasili Manousakis stepped up into the assistant role, while Benni also brought in Rayaan Jacobs, who had met during his time at Pirates, as an analyst and coach. And while losing that experience could’ve hurt Benni, he was beginning to find his stride and voice at City.

“I’ve now got a technical team with the same ideas, the same kind of philosophy as me, and that makes my job easier.”

City also took a big leap forward at the start of 2018 when they started using their own training grounds at Hartleyvale.

While I had interviewed Benni before his time at City, I had never really gotten to know the man. However, over the season I found myself respecting him even more as a person. Benni is incredibly genuine and frank. He doesn’t hide behind any pretences, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He is also a lot more intelligent than people may give him credit for. While I doubt he regrets it, considering what he achieved in his career, I think playing football may have robbed Benni of realising some of his potential.

He probably could have been a lawyer, or teacher had those been his ambitions or had those opportunities been freely available for a kid from Hanover Park. I think he also is quite a sensitive guy but keeps that under wraps most of the time. Seeing him with kids, his own or other peoples’, or with his family, you get a glimpse of that side. He is also incredibly funny. I don’t think many coaches have made me laugh out loud as much as Benni did. All of these elements just add to the aura that Benni has.

“The Benni Effect”

With Benni in charge, City’s profile grew rapidly, and sponsors continued to come on board at the club. City finished fifth in Benni’s first season, and while it was a good start, I still had my reservations whether Benni would return the following season. While over the past few months, I had seen him start to implement a new plan at the club. They moved away from the style of football Tinkler had played, there was still apprehension. Benni was still doing his UEFA Pro courses and had originally only planned to start coaching, once he had completed it. I had seen glimpses of the coach that Benni could be in that year. But it had also been a challenging time for him, and I wondered whether he wanted to be there.

But something happened in that offseason. While at one point I think Benni had considered quitting, what I think he discovered while being on break in Scotland, was that he enjoyed that pressure. And he missed it, sitting at home. When Benni returned to Cape Town for pre-season, there was a spring in his step. He looked completely re-energised. He had concluded his UEFA Pro Licence and was full of ideas.

“Yah, you know when you’re a new coach and you have to be in charge of players, and you have to make sure everything runs smoothly, and you have your pro licence that you have to worry about, and you have to do those assignments and tasks. Now that’s all over, and I only have my coaching to focus on. It’s lifted a bit of a weight off my shoulders. So now I’m a qualified UEFA Pro licensed coacYeahnd now I’ve got the licence to do what I really want to do.”

This also brought a new dynamic with the players. He was still the jovial and friendly character he always was, but now more demanding coach. The football he wanted to play was more aggressive and attacking, and he pushed the players. He began to expect more and more from them. He also seemed to thrive with Manousakis and his new technical team. The football played by City at this time now bore no resemblance to the team from the maiden season. Much of the squad had changed too.

“Yeah, everyone has come back in good spirits, and in good form surprisingly, so I’m optimistic for this season, and I think from the way it’s started, we can have a season where you see a lot of improvement. I am very excited, much more than I was last season. I’m not a rookie anymore, and the players and the coaching staff that I have, give me the calmness because we work really well together, and I can see how the players have upped their game.”

Multi-Faceted Benni

While I interviewed Benni a lot, I think some of my most memorable moments with him were those that happened off-the-record. He would often tell me stories about his youth or playing days. But there were also stories of his heritage. Stories about friends, family, or just moments that made an impact on his life. One of those that made the biggest impact on me, and one I still think of regularly, happened during that pre-season. I arrived to find Benni on an exercise bike, and he told me that he wanted to make sure he stayed healthy for his kids. I could see there was more to it, and I joked how he was in much better condition than I have ever been.

Then Benni turned to me and started talking to me about a childhood friend. He said they were as thick-as-thieves at school, but had lost contact over the years. Recently they had rediscovered each other, as his friend had moved to Scotland. They had planned to re-unite during the off-season, when Benni went home, and catch up for the first time in twenty years. But just before Benni went on holiday to Scotland during the offseason, he had tried to contact his friend, and not heard anything back. Eventually, his friend’s brother made contact and said he had passed away. It had left Benni shook, and I think broke his heart a bit. But it had also motivated him further.

Silverware

Benni was about to lift his first trophy as a coach, and it was all part of his vision, he told me at the start of the season, that it would happen.

“This season I’m going to be a bit more determined to get my hands on my first piece of silverware, just to get that feeling of that when you’re in the managerial role.”

And so it happened. City walked away MTN8 champions at the start of the 2018/19 season. They had overcome a tough two-legged semi-final against Mamelodi Sundowns and for the third season in a row, met SuperSport in a final, and City prevailed in a shootout after a goalless draw. Benni’s presence at the club also attracted a different level of player, with Kermit Erasmus eager to work with him. While perhaps they needed a little more consistency, some of the football City played was wonderful. A lot of it came down to Benni’s football philosophy.

Throughout the season City and Benni were challenging at the top of the table, and eventually finished the season in fourth. Benni was making waves across the country. He was being spoken about as a future Bafana coach, and also being linked with the Soweto giants’ jobs.

“I’m flattered, I’m flattered that my name is floating around for the big jobs, it shows that myself, my team and my players are doing a great job and people are taking notice.”

The End of Benni and City

But unfortunately for Benni, the 2019/20 season was the end of the road for his Cape Town City career. A string of disappointing results saw City lingering at the wrong end of the table. It wasn’t like they were playing badly, they just weren’t winning, but Benni felt let down because some of the players weren’t giving him the effort he expected. And also, because of several injuries, he was hoping to make a few more signings.

One signing he wanted, in particular, was former captain Robyn Johannes, who had left the club the season before. But Comitis wouldn’t budge on Johannes. It seemed Comitis was still disappointed in the way Johannes left the club. It was one of the first times that Benni and Comitis disagreed in public, and I don’t think either appreciated the situation, or there was a communication breakdown. The coach had particular players in mind that he wanted to bring in. It wasn’t just about getting certain positions, it was bringing in the right characters. Benni wasn’t happy, but he persevered. But the results didn’t change. He was growing increasingly frustrated because he believed the players could and should deliver more.

“It’s getting frustrating now. As a coach, you know you work on certain things, but when you see players – in the one ear, and out the next – what can you do?” Benni asked after one loss.

The Beginning of the End

Again, looking in from the outside, I noticed a shift in the dynamics at the training sessions. There’s that old adage of a coach ‘losing the dressing room’ but sometimes it has more to do with the make-up of the players and staff than to do with the coach. While in his first two seasons Benni had players like Teko Modise and Johannes as vocal leaders in the dressing room, there was a different energy amongst the squad, with different faces having influence. It is fair to say that some of them shirked their responsibility, and didn’t enjoy the criticism. There were certain players that Benni felt weren’t giving their worth.

“You get paid to play. You don’t do it because you like me, or you don’t like me, you get paid to play football. You get paid to defend when you’re supposed to defend, you get paid to score goals, you know. The money they get every month ain’t given to them for free. This is a job and I felt like they didn’t do their job. Too many players still on a holiday camp I think.”

In the first two years, when I had visited City’s training under Benni, I never felt a lack of respect for their coach. But I did in those last few months. There were whispers or comments I didn’t expect to hear, and it seemed the relationships, from the boardroom to the coaching staff, to the players had lost a bit of its magic. Unfortunately, at times this happens at clubs, especially in South Africa, where managements bring in players, or coaching staff members, without the Head Coach’s consent. Eventually, it all became too much, and in November 2019 Benni and the club parted ways.

Respecting Those That Come Before

Two days before he left I had played host to some South African football legends, Edwin and Brian Stein, who were visiting their hometown Cape Town from the UK. With their brother Mark, the three Stein brothers were pioneers of black football in the eighties. Brian was capped by England, while Edwin was also actually one of the first black managers in the UK. I asked Benni if I could bring them by training, and without hesitation, he said of course. Watching Benni interact with the Steins was something I will never forget.

He showed so much respect and listened to their stories about their days in the game. He introduced them to everyone who passed by and called them heroes. They, in turn, showed Benni equal respect and were so pleased to see a young man from their community leading the team. Personally, it was one of my highlights of the season. I had grown up admiring the Steins and being so proud that they were South Africans. Players like the Steins, Roy Wegerle, Gary Bailey or even Bruce Grobelaar or Craig Johnston, with their South African connections, made me dream about seeing a new generation of South Africans abroad. Benni became part of that new generation. I have always loved the human aspect of sport, and being able to share in that moment with two generations of pioneers will always remain special.

Benni returned home to Scotland, and while he has been linked with many jobs since leaving City, he remains unemployed. City replaced Benni with Dutch coach Jan Olde Riekerink, and after a slow start, they ended the season with a bang to finish in sixth. I am pleased though to have seen Benni a few times after he left. He came down to South Africa for Robyn Johannes’ wedding in Stellenbosch, where Johannes was now playing. And he stayed for a few months after, as he was sorting out his visa.

Close to Ajax…

Being in Cape Town meant he was often linked to moves, and he did have informal talks with Ajax Cape Town boss Ari Efstathiou. At that point, Ajax were top of the second tier and looked destined for promotion. However I think he didn’t want to take a job for the wrong reasons, and while he may have considered it, I think Benni would’ve felt disloyal to sign on with City’s former rivals.

Benni came and watched a lot of Glad Africa Championship games, and we’d always have a chat. I could see the hurt he felt. He doesn’t like failure. Benni once told me how as a player he would hate going out at night after a game his team lost, sometimes even if he missed a goal. He’d feel embarrassed and just wanted to get back on the field and get it right. And I could also see the fire burning inside him still. And I could see he wanted to get back on the field, and right his wrongs.

Roadblocks to Success

I have all the confidence that Benni will come back firing. He has so much more to prove, and I still believe he could be the South African coach who makes the biggest mark abroad. With Quinton Fortune now a first-team coach at Reading, Bradley Carnell an assistant at New York Red Bulls, and of course Pitso Mosimane now the man in charge at Egyptian giants Al-Ahly, who knows what opportunity might come along. But it is not easy for a black coach to get opportunities in Europe. While I do not doubt Benni’s ability, having seen it first hand, there are still those who perceive him a certain way. Before he joined City, many doubted his potential and didn’t see him making it as a coach, but he proved them wrong, and will now have to do that overseas.

“That is the challenge for me,” Benni told me recently. “And that’s fine, people are allowed to have their opinions, and you know I’m all for that, their opinion of me is all good and well, but let me show you then, let me show you, then see if I can change your opinion.”

So what’s next for Benni? “To get a job,” Benni laughs. “The next step is definitely finding the right fit, I think. I’m not going to just go into coaching for the sake of coaching, as much as I love it. It must be the right fit for me. It must be owners who are ambitious, owners who must succeed, owners who want to change the way South African football is being run or played. Those that want to do things differently, on a level where, when you make examples, you can see yourself doing a lot of things that they do at Real Madrid and Barcelona, at Manchester United, at Chelsea, at Liverpool, at the top, top clubs around Europe and the world. I want to work for people who have that mindset and just don’t want to be mediocre.”

One thing is for sure, Benni will be back. And he will change a few more opinions about him. And I feel that one day Benni McCarthy the coach could exceed the story of Benni, the player.

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