Benni gets licence to thrill

Benni McCarthy says the fact that he has acquired his Uefa Pro Licence means nobody can make the suggestion he is just another ex-player automatically put on the coaching carousel because of his history in the game.

The Cape Town City tactician was recently awarded his Pro Licence‚ the highest coaching qualification in football‚ and says it validates the hard work he has put in to making the transition from player to the dugout.

“It’s nice that I’m a novice coach‚ but with the highest qualification out there.

“It is not to gloat‚ it is merely that I needed to go and educate myself.

“I needed to learn about a side of football that I did not know much about‚” he said. “Getting this qualification ... “I put in the work and nobody can point fingers at me and say‚ ‘yeah‚ all these explayers think that because they played at a certain level and represented the country they are entitled to have a job lined up for them and they must be given an opportunity’.

“I never took anything for granted and I never asked for favours‚ I have always had to work hard for what I wanted and with this it is clear to see that I want to succeed.

“As a player I did one thing‚ as a coach now I needed to do this.”

He says gaining his licence has been a real eye-opener to the role of a head coach‚ something he never appreciated as a player in the elite leagues of Europe.

“To learn about it as a player is one thing‚ but now that I am on the other side coaching it is completely different world‚” McCarthy says.

“There are so many things that I didn’t know while I was playing.

“What is the process coaches go through to select [teams] and why do they select [certain players] ... what do they look for.

“I just had to concentrate on myself and make sure that I was giving the manager a headache to put me in the starting XI.

“There are so many things on these courses that you learn that we as players didn’t know.”