In Benni McCarthy Kenya Unveils a Hit Making Musician and a Football Champion

The first thing you should know about Benni McCarthy is that he has been featured in a song which was a hit. TKZee's 1998 kwaito single "Shibobo" is a notable South African hit, featuring Benni McCarthy's vocals and heavily sampling Europe's "The Final Countdown." Released in anticipation of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, it's also the title song of their album and includes a football-themed music video starring McCarthy.

Shibobo" achieved phenomenal sales, surpassing 100,000 units in South Africa within a month. This made it the fastest and highest-selling CD single by TKZee and any South African artist at the time. Its popularity extended across African music charts, and it experienced a successful re-release in 2010-2011. So yes, the new Harambee Stars manager is a successful musician.

Benni McCarthy Football Accolades

Probably for the first time in many years, Kenya has brought in a manager who is associated with success. One can certainly say so of his playing years. Recently, Kenya has been surprising us with foreign coaches who are probably unknown even in their home country.

Benni shares something with McDonald Mariga, the current deputy president of Football Kenya Federation (FKF). Both have won the UEFA Champions League while playing for a Jose Mourinho-coached team.

Benni's playing career is a trove of trophies. He had a short stint with Seven Stars, which later merged with Cape Town Spurs to create Ajax Cape Town, a feeder team for the Dutch club Ajax. At Ajax he won the Dutch League. He then moved to Celta Vigo before Porto came calling, as they needed to replace Helder Postiga.

At Porto he won 8 different trophies and a golden boot. In the run to win the UCL, he scored two goals against Manchester United, then a football force led by Alex Ferguson and not Amorim. The new Kenyan Manager has also won trophies in the motherland and has been an AFCON top scorer.

So, as a player, he understands winning. As a manager, the UEFA Pro License holder has had some success. As the head coach for Cape Town City, he won, he guided the team to the MTN 8 cup. After he was dismissed from the club, he joined AmaZulu, where his main achievement was leading them to the CAF Champions’ League group stage.

Come July 30, 2022, Benni McCarthy joined the same Manchester United he had bundled out of the UCL when he was a player. The role was first-team coach. His contract concluded on June 27, 2024, and he opted not to renew, choosing to pursue head coaching opportunities.

He becomes the first managerial appointee under the new FKF regime. Kenyans may be happy that a recognizable name is now on the bench. However, they would like him to bring some of his success from music and playing to the men’s national team.

Feature Image Credit: MusicBrainz