“Mixed Emotions”: Why McCarthy Is Vowing To Make Mosimane’s Bafana Life Difficult At Orlando
South Africa’s all-time leading goalscorer Benni McCarthy has described returning to Orlando Amstel Arena as a opposing coach as a surreal experience, as his Kenya side prepares to battle Bafana Bafana in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier on Friday.
The Harambee Stars host the return fixture four days later at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, with McCarthy aiming to halt South Africa’s perfect start in Group D.
Returning to Orlando evokes fond memories for the former striker, who spearheaded Orlando Pirates’ famous 2011/12 domestic treble by scoring 13 goals in 29 appearances across all competitions.
“Mixed emotions, to be honest,” McCarthy said, as quoted by Sporty TV.
“Because I go home to where my roots are. I go home to a place I called home once upon a time, Orlando Stadium. I go home to the adoring fans who are always cheering me, always supporting me, no matter what. I always have unbelievable moments in front of them.
“Now, I’m on the other side of the dugout against everything that helped build me to where I am today.
“It is a little bit of mixed emotions, but it is a proud moment because I’m still representing my country, even though I’m the head coach of the opposition team.
“But I would want the very best for my country. But I will definitely not make it easy for them.”
Among McCarthy’s most memorable moments at Orlando Stadium was his assist in a 3-2 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2011/12 MTN8 semi-final first leg. Later that season, on 26 February 2012, his spectacular bicycle kick against Maritzburg United (now Durban City) off a Dikgang Mabalane corner earned him the PSL Goal of the Season award and proved pivotal in Pirates’ treble run.
Despite his playing pedigree at the venue, head coaching success at Orlando has eluded McCarthy. During his managerial tenures at Cape Town City and AmaZulu, he failed to register a single win away against the Buccaneers at the venue.
McCarthy, who remains South Africa’s top scorer with 31 goals in 80 international caps, also praised Bafana Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane for winning his opening three matches since taking charge in August, while promising a fierce tactical battle.
“At Bafana, he came in and has already demanded and received what is expected from his team, like a typical Pitso Mosimane team,” said McCarthy, who was left out of South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup squad when Mosimane was serving as an assistant coach under Carlos Alberto Parreira.
“They are hard to play against, hard to beat. He came in and stamped his authority on the national team, and that is great.
“But, listen, we have some really good battles [when Mosimane was Mamelodi Sundowns coach and McCarthy was Cape Town City coach]. At times, every single time, I was the biggest underdog because Cape Town City didn’t have the resources Sundowns had then, and Pitso was financially backed, and we were dropped in the ocean.
“But the way I made my team play, the way we set up, we went out fearing no one. We respect what teams are, what they have done, but we don’t fear them at all.”
