BENNI MCCARTHY has become an overnight darling of Kenyan football fans as he continues to do wonders with the men's national team.
Harambee Stars have already qualified for the African
Nations Championships (CHAN) quarter-finals despite being in the 'Group of
Death'.
Not many gave them a chance when they were pooled
against two two-time winners in Morocco and DR Congo, Angola and Zambia, but
Kenya will have a chance to top the group when they play Zambia on Sunday.
McCarthy, who was appointed in early March, took a
while before he got his first competitive win. He drew against The Gambia
before losing to Gabon in World Cup qualifiers.
He won his first game against Chad in an international
friendly but had to wait until the DR Congo game to get his first win in a
competitive match.
The South African tactician is arguably one of the
Harambee Stars' coaches with a decorated career both as a player and as a
coach.
Kenya was his first national team posting, having
previously worked at Manchester United, where he trained forwards under Erik
ten Hag.
What does Cristiano Ronaldo think of Benni McCarthy?
A confessed Manchester United fan, he never got the
chance to play for them, but got the opportunity later in life to work with
strikers like Cristiano Ronaldo.
A previous report by Mail Sport indicates that Ronaldo
was impressed by McCarthy, who took it upon himself to have extra shooting
sessions with the players after being asked by Bruno Fernandes.
Harambee Stars need to beat Zambia, or hope Morocco
and DR Congo draw in the other game, for them to play their quarter-final match
in Nairobi.
Angola coach sends message to Benni McCarthy
In a separate report, Angola head coach Pedro
Goncalves sent a message to McCarthy following their elimination from CHAN
2024.
Angola were eliminated after losing to DR Congo 2-0 on
Thursday. This follows their draw against Kenya and loss to Morocco. Their only
win came against Zambia.
The Palancas Negras came into the tournament as one of
the dark horses but failed to live up to that reputation.