WeeklySA_AdminJOURNEY: South African football legend Benni McCarthy took fans on a journey from the tough streets of Hanover Park to the pinnacle of European football during the Johannesburg launch of his memoir Benni, before a packed crowd…
By Jacob Mawela
A sizeable crowd of football fans, journalists, former players and friends gathered at the Exclusive Books store in Johannesburg’s Mall of Africa on a Wednesday evening for the launch of former Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy’s memoir, Benni.
The intimate bookstore space buzzed with excitement as guests eagerly purchased copies of the freshly released book before forming a queue to have them signed by the man of the moment — now the manager of Kenya’s senior men’s national team.
The nostalgic soundtrack of TKZee’s late-1990s hit Shibobo — the song that famously featured McCarthy — played in the background as guests enjoyed snacks and wine while sharing memories with the football legend. Among those present were former players Ricardo Katza and Mark Haskins, as well as prominent football writers including the book’s co-author Mark Gleeson, Matshelane Mamabolo, Jonty Mark and Kgomotso Mokoena.
The highlight of the evening was a candid one-on-one conversation between McCarthy and Gleeson, who guided the audience through key moments of the striker’s extraordinary career.
The intensity of those Sunday games in
Hanover Park toughened me for everything that came later…
Regarded as one of South Africa’s most accomplished footballers, McCarthy recalled a career marked by historic achievements — including scoring South Africa’s first goal at a FIFA World Cup, registering both a hat-trick and a four-goal haul in international football, and becoming the only South African player to win the UEFA Champions League.
The conversation also traced McCarthy’s humble beginnings in Hanover Park on the Cape Flats, an area notorious for gang violence. It was there that he first earned a reputation as a prolific goal scorer in fiercely contested Sunday community competitions locals referred to as the “Bundesliga”.
McCarthy explained that playing against older and more experienced opponents toughened him mentally and physically for the challenges of professional football.
Those early performances soon opened the door to professional football with Cape Town club Seven Stars, launching a career that would take him across Europe — from the Netherlands and Spain to Portugal and England.
He recalled the cultural adjustments required when he joined Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager, living with a Dutch family while learning the language and adapting to life far from home. Determined to succeed, McCarthy taught himself Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese by translating television subtitles.
While he enjoyed success across Europe, he admitted his time in Spain with Celta de Vigo proved the most difficult, citing what he described as an unwelcoming football culture compared with the warmth he experienced in neighbouring Portugal.
It was in Portugal, however, that McCarthy enjoyed the most successful chapter of his career. Under the management of José Mourinho at FC Porto, he helped the club secure a historic treble, including the 2003–2004 UEFA Champions League title. That season also saw him win the Primeira Liga Golden Boot.
McCarthy spoke warmly about his relationship with Mourinho, who wrote the foreword to the memoir. The Portuguese coach described him as a player any manager would admire, praising his professionalism and competitive spirit. McCarthy also recalled a humorous moment when Mourinho surprised him by bringing him biltong after learning it was a favourite South African snack.
Asked to name the three best goals of his career, McCarthy singled out the famous “Shibobo” strike against Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, his glancing header against Manchester United during Porto’s Champions League campaign, and a spectacular free kick he scored while playing for Orlando Pirates.
The evening also produced a touching moment during the audience question-and-answer session when one of McCarthy’s former teachers, Bruce Mohamed of Groenvlei High School in Lansdowne, stood up to praise the example the footballer had set for young people.
McCarthy also spoke candidly about the darker side of professional football, including death threats and difficult relationships with agents and administrators.
The launch concluded with a long line of fans eager to take selfies and collect signed copies of the book.
It capped a busy media day for McCarthy, who currently divides his time between the United Kingdom — where his Scottish wife and children live — Kenya, and South Africa as he prepares Kenya’s national team for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which the country will co-host.
Co-written with veteran football journalist Mark Gleeson, Benni is published by Pan Macmillan South Africa. The memoir traces McCarthy’s journey from a childhood marked by poverty on the Cape Flats to becoming South Africa’s all-time leading goal scorer and one of the country’s most decorated football exports.
During his playing career, McCarthy was the top scorer at the African Youth Championship and FIFA World Youth Championship in 1997, the Africa Cup of Nations in 1998, and Portugal’s Primeira Liga in the 2003–2004 season.
Today, the memoir captures not only the goals and trophies, but the resilience required to navigate a career shaped by triumphs, setbacks and the relentless pursuit of excelle
