Erik ten Hag has added to his coaching team at Manchester United by appointing Benni McCarthy as a first-team coach.
The 44-year-old will work with the first-team squad at Carrington and will offer particular insight to the forwards, having had a successful career as a striker in the European game.
McCarthy will focus on positioning and finishing with the forwards, but his work will not be limited to United’s attacking players.
He was named 2020-21 South African Premier League Coach of the Year and in May of 2021 was offered — and turned down — the job as head coach of the South African senior national team.
As a striker, he played for Seven Stars in his native Cape Town, Ajax, Celta Vigo, FC Porto, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham and Orlando Pirates. He played 79 times for South Africa and is the country’s all-time leading scorer, as well as being the only South African to win the Champions League.
In 2004, McCarthy scored two spectacular goals for Jose Mourinho’s Porto side to knock United out of that competition.
McCarthy is familiar with the Manchester area having lived there when he played for Blackburn. During that time, he also had a good relationship with the then-young Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
