Benni McCarthy shows in interest in Bafana coaching gig
South African soccer legend, Benni McCarthy has indicated his interest in the Bafana coaching job despite Broos staying until 2026.
Bafana Bafana recently finished third at the Afcon tournament, while breaking into the top 60 of the FIFA World Rankings, an indication of some real progress that’s been made. Hugo Broos is expected to continue at the helm of Bafana until 2026, but it is interesting to note that iconic former South African footballer Benni McCarthy, who is now a senior coach at Manchester United, has spoken about his desire to coach the national team while he is still young.
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“Of course, that’s what I think, any player who turns to coaching or being a manager, his dream is to coach his national team.
“Listen. I don’t want to be Hugo Broos’ age when I take the Bafana job!” McCarthy told iDiski Times.
“I want to be able to still have the energy that I have. I want to be present for my players. And you know how vocal and how animated I am?”
BENNI MCCARTHY KEEN TO ONE DAY LEAD BAFANA
The 46-year-old added that any player who turns to coaching or being a manage ultimately has the dream to coach his national team.
“And for me, it’s even more so, the fire is burning even more so. Because of the fact that South Africa has never qualified for the World Cup since 2010, or technically 2002! And that ghost is haunting me.
“So the more we’re not involved in world football at the big stage, the more that is saying to me, ‘I think maybe it’s time to push the button on taking the national team’. Because I know I have what it takes.
“I can help our national team qualify for the World Cup. And not just qualify for the World Cup, but going far! Going through the group stages and doing what Morocco and Ghana have done at previous World Cups.”
BROOS CURRENTLY HAS BACKING
It wasn’t all that long ago that critics of Bafana Bafana and Hugo Broos had real doubts that the national team would even do enough to qualify for the Afcon tournament.
However, after overcoming that hurdle, Broos’ charges defied the pre-tournament expectations to progress all the way to the semi-final stage, where they agonisingly lost on penalties to Nigeria.
Speaking to SABC Sport on Metro FM in Abidjan, SAFA boss Danny Jordaan also clearly explained why they want to fully back Broos to continue building on what he has started.
“We want to encourage him to keep on building the team,” said Jordaan. “I think we must all support him because we can see what he has put together…
“Absolutely we want him to stay on (but) we have to fix the issues between him and the PSL.”