Aheed Abrar
Manchester United hire former Champions League-winning striker Benni McCarthy as first-team coach
Manchester United have hired Benni McCarthy as a first-team coach, according to Metro. The former striker joins Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff at Old Trafford.
McCarthy had been working as head coach at AmaZulu FC in South African football’s first tier before coming to United. The 44-year-old had a distinguished playing career, playing for various teams around Europe.
The striker had a spell with Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League. However, McCarthy’s best moment came in the 2003/04 season when he played a significant part in Jose Mourinho’s Champions League-winning FC Porto side.
Now, the South African joins the backroom staff at United. Here, McCarthy will have to contend with star players and their egos and it will definitely be a big step in his career after having retired from playing football in 2013.
Cristiano Ronaldo is angling for a move away from the club. The Portuguese was our top goalscorer last season. None of our other attackers stepped up to the plate when needed. The 37-year-old was our talisman.
It remains to be seen whether the new first-team coach will have the opportunity to work with Ronaldo. But McCarthy has his work cut out for him. If he has been brought in to focus on our attack, there’s a lot of work to do.
Marcus Rashford had one of his worst seasons in a United shirt in the previous campaign. The England international looked a shell of his former self, barely having an impact when being played. Anthony Martial was another striker who looked lost last season.
Jadon Sancho arrived from Borussia Dortmund last summer. The 22-year-old sadly couldn’t replicate the form he had shown in the Bundesliga.
More Manchester United News
- Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage amongst youngsters omitted from Manchester United squad travelling to Norway
- Joan Laporta remains coy on Frenkie de Jong moving to Manchester United
- Cristiano Ronaldo
There have been promising signs in the pre-season. Hopefully, McCarthy can bring the best out of the players who had a hard time in the previous campaign.
