Benni McCarthy’s dream of succeeding Hugo Broos as Bafana Bafana coach suffered a major blow on Tuesday as his Kenya side were crushed 8-0 by Senegal in an international friendly.
With Broos set to retire at the end of next year’s World Cup in North America, the South African Football Association should already be assessing a number of coaches who could be the Belgian’s successor. With a solid playing and coaching background, Bafana’s all-time leading goalscorer had been widely regarded as one of the frontrunners.
McCarthy’s coaching career is impressive. In 2018, during his first managerial job, he guided Cape Town City to their first-ever cup title, beating SuperSport United on penalties in the MTN8 final. Three years later, AmaZulu qualified for the CAF Champions League for the very first time under his leadership.
On top of that, two years as a strikers coach at Manchester United yielded two more trophies, giving him experience at the highest levels of club football. When he took over the Kenya national team, many saw it as a potential audition for the Bafana job.
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During his tenure with the Harambe Stars, the team achieved notable success. They finished first in their African Nations Championship group before bowing out in the quarter-finals and showed resilience in their World Cup qualifiers. The perception in Kenya was that the team would continue to improve under his guidance.
Because of these positive sentiments, many in South Africa viewed McCarthy as being on a promising path to the national team’s top job. But the 8-0 hammering at the hands of Senegal has brought that optimism back down to earth. The defeat exposed defensive frailties and tactical weaknesses, raising questions about McCarthy’s ability to manage a team at the highest international level.
The picture has further shifted with reports that DR Congo’s Sébastien Desabre is also in the running. DR Congo stunned Nigeria last week to book their place in next year’s inter-confederation play-offs. Should they qualify for the World Cup, Desabre’s recent results would likely give him the edge over McCarthy in the race for the Bafana job.
For McCarthy, the road to Bafana Bafana now looks steeper than ever. His credentials remain impressive, but football is a results-driven business, and the Senegal thrashing will be hard to ignore.
The SAFA brass will have to weigh not just coaching pedigree but recent performance when making a decision, and with strong candidates like Desabre emerging, McCarthy will need more than past achievements – he will need a convincing, immediate impact if he hopes to wear the national team’s managerial hat. If he wants to remain a serious contender, he must prove that his tactical acumen can withstand the pressures of international football – and fast.
Sport
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