Benni McCarthy is the all-time leading scorer of the South Africa national team.
Benedict Saul McCarthy was born on November 12, 1977 in Cape Town. He spent his youth career at Young Pirates and Crusaders. In 1995 he joined Seven Stars where he scored impressive 38 goals in 56 appearances. His goalscoring record attracted attention from top European clubs, and in 1997 he signed for Amsterdam side Ajax.
After two quite successful seasons with the Dutch side (20 goals in 36 starts) Benni was sold to Celta Vigo for around €6 million which was the highest transfer fee for a South African player at that time. Despite the reputation of the best South African player McCarthy failed to establish himself on a regular basis at Celta Vigo. After two poor seasons he was loaned out to Porto where he regained his form scoring 12 goals in 11 appearances.
In 2003 Porto have signed the South African on a permanent deal and he became their most powerful weapon having netted 34 goals in 74 appearances. McCarthy was thriving under then Porto coach Jose Mourinho helping his side to win the Primeira Liga title and capturing the Golden Boot award (20 goals in 23 games). He played an important role as Porto claimed the UEFA Champions League title in 2004.
In 2006 McCarthy moved to Blackburn Rovers where he has made 140 appearances scoring 52 goals during the four seasons. In season 2010-2011 Benni had a short spell with West Ham where he has made just 11 first-team starts.
In 2011 he joined Orlando Pirates and in 2013 Benny retired from professional football at the age of 35.
Benni McCarthy has won his first South Africa call-up in 1997 and is the top South Africa national team goal scorer with 31 goals in 79 caps.
Found a mistake? Highlight it with mouse and press CTRL + Enter. Thank you!
There is no content in this category.
There is no content in this category.