Benni McCarthy has returned to South Africa, and rumors about his coaching future continue.
McCarthy admitted that he received an offer from Orlando Pirates. He had been linked to South Africa’s other big clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns, after leaving his role as a forward coach at Manchester United.
McCarthy stated that he is open to opportunities but wants to choose the right one. There were rumors of offers from the Middle East and Major League Soccer (MLS). Additionally, due to the vacancies left by Cavin Johnson and Rulani Mokwena,
McCarthy’s name was being linked with both Sundowns and Chiefs. However, McCarthy clarified that no formal offers came from either club. Chiefs appointed Nasreddine Nabi for that period, while Sundowns chose to continue with Manqoba Mngqithi.
McCarthy revealed that joining Orlando Pirates was a more serious possibility at that time. He shared that if Jose Riveiro hadn’t accepted the offer, he might have been the head coach of Orlando Pirates.
“There was a chance once upon a time, way before Jose Riveiro came to Pirates. I think it was the Swedish coach Kjell Jonevret. I did speak with the chairman . It was almost a done deal; it was kind of me going back to coach the Orlando Pirates.”
“But I think the Chairman at the last minute decided to go for someone with more experience because, like I said, I didn’t have a lot of coaching experience. I think I would have done an amazing job because of the players Pirates had at the time. Not even Sundowns could have come close. But unfortunately, that was the closest I came to coaching Pirates after that, it was just always rumours.”
McCarthy also commented on the rumors connecting him to Pirates and Chiefs.
“People were connecting me to coaching Pirates and Chiefs. When there is a vacancy my name gets thrown in, but I think it was also to attract other coaches when it looked like Benni McCarthy is close to signing for one of those two teams.