Benni McCarthy Snubs Ex-Bafana Bafana Teammates in Naming Best Player He’s Ever Played With

• South African coach Benni McCarthy has come out to name the best footballer he has shared the pitch with during in illustrious football career
• The Bafana Bafana legend snubbed all his former teammates in the South African men's national team for a European player who is also now a football manager
• The former Orlando Pirates striker played alongside top players like Deco, Vitor Baia, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Fereira and a host of others during his time with FC Porto in Portugal

South African football legend Benni McCarthy has ignored his former Bafana Bafana teammates while naming the best player he has ever played with during his illustrious professional football career.

The former Cape Town City mentor began his professional career at Seven Stars before moving to Cape Town Spurs. He later secured a transfer to Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam, featured for Celta Vigo in the Spanish La Liga, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United in the English Premier League, and Orlando Pirates in the Premier Soccer League.

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The Kenya national team manager had a good professional career, and he remains the only South African footballer to have won the UEFA Champions League, achieving the feat with Portuguese giants FC Porto under the tutelage of former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho in 2004.

McCarthy names best player he’s played with

In a recent interview, Benni McCarthy, who recently commented on Bafana Bafana's points deduction from FIFA, claimed that Michael Laudrup was the best player he had ever played with. Reflecting on his time at Ajax, McCarthy said he had the honour of sharing the pitch with the Danish legend as a young player and was struck by his professionalism.

He noted that Laudrup was the first player to make the switch from Real Madrid to Barcelona and then back to Real Madrid, a move that remains unprecedented, and described him as a footballer blessed with extraordinary vision, skill, and intelligence.

The South African tactician recalled how, as a 19-year-old, he was in awe of Laudrup’s ability and presence, saying that anyone who failed to learn from playing alongside such a talent had chosen the wrong sport. He added that it was both a pleasure and an honour to play with Laudrup, whom he hailed as the greatest player he had ever played with.

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Laudrup has since turned out to be a coach just like McCarthy. He would be remembered for his time with Getafe in the Spanish La Liga from 2007 to 2008, and most importantly with Swansea City in the English Premier League between 2012 and 2014.

He led the Welsh club to their first major trophy in England after winning the English Football League Cup in the 2012-2013 season.

McCarthy tipped to replace Broos at Bafana

Briefly News also reported that McCarthy has been tipped to replace Hugo Broos as the next coach for Bafana Bafana after the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

Broos is set to lead South Africa to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup next, and it is said that the Belgian tactician might leave after the conclusion of the two competitions.

Source: Briefly News