Marcus Rashford is currently one of the most feared strikers on the planet – and that’s largely thanks to Benni McCarthy
The 45-year-old former South Africa international arrived at Manchester United with Erik ten Hag last summer.
He has been named the club’s new specialized attacking coach, and his star pupil is undoubtedly the Premier League’s top performer.
The England striker scored just five goals last season but has 24 (a career-high) this season after two in a 3-0 win over Leicester on Sunday.
And during the match, not only was Rashford’s name called at the Stretford End, so was McCarthy.
The South African veteran’s one-on-one sessions helped transform Rashford’s confidence into a much more direct striker.
And the striker’s header ability has also improved significantly, as his recent goals against Leeds and West Ham prove it. Supporters hailed McCarthy as the club’s “sign of the season” last week.
McCarthy made his first big move from his homeland to Ajax in 1997 and went on to enjoy his time in Spain with Celta Vigo before moving to Porto.
There he scored a memorable goal against Man United as Jose Mourinho’s Porto knocked them out of the Champions League en route to winning the trophy in 2004.
McCarthy scored 37 goals in 109 appearances in four years at Blackburn before joining West Ham in 2010.
But he struggled in East London and returned home to the Orlando Pirates in the South African Premier League for two years. season before retiring.
McCarthy then began his coaching career as an analyst at Hibernian and then as an assistant coach at Belgium’s Sint-Truiden before becoming manager of Cape Town City in 2017. and won the MTN 8 Cup of South Africa.
He then joined AmaZulu and led them to the CAF Champions League after finishing the club’s best ever tournament.
That success helped McCarthy join Ten Hag at Man United in August.
When he arrived, he said: “I want to help these young players, motivate them, change their minds and really try to make a difference for Man United this season.”
This season we will see a fully revived Man United, a group of hungry players and a team that will be able to challenge for the Champions League and change the dominance of Man City and Liverpool.”
Then , he explained the key things he would do is “coordinate the movements and finish, and make sure the players are alert and ready to score.” And Rashford has made no secret of McCarthy,who fluent in English, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese – has greatly helped his form.
Recently Rashford said: “He definitely helped me a lot. Having attacking-minded coaches is good for us. He’s always been there telling us these things.”Now, supporters and McCarthy will be looking forward to Rashford’s hot streak that continues at Wembley this Sunday when United face United. against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup Final.
