Benni Mccarthy’s greatest hits

“AS A UNITED FAN, SCORING AGAINST THEM HURT. MOURINHO TOLD ME TO CHEER UP OR I WOULD NEVER PLAY FOR HIM AGAIN”

Ajax 5 Vitesse 0 August 19, 1997 Eredivisie

“As a young man from the gangster ghetto of Hanover Park in Cape Town, it was beyond my wildest dreams to play in Europe, so I came on with a burning desire to show everyone watching why Ajax had signed me. This game changed my life: at 19 I wasn’t meant to be part of the first team, but they threw me in at the deep end and I was able to swim.”

South Africa 4 Namibia 1 February 16, 1998 Africa Cup of Nations

“If we’d lost to Namibia we’d have been eliminated, but I had my scoring boots on. Even my team-mates didn’t expect me to get four goals in the opening 21 minutes – I was carried off the field! It was a career-defining moment for me. I became an icon of African football.”

Porto 2 Manchester United 1 February 25, 2004 Champions League

“No one outside of Portugal knew what we were about, so beating Man United announced us to the world. They’d led through Quinton Fortune but I equalised with a difficult volley under pressure and then scored with a powerful header. It was a great night for Porto, and the first time in Champions League history that two South Africans scored. I’m a United fan, though, so it was heartbreaking to score against them. I must have looked pretty glum: Jose Mourinho told me to cheer up or I’d never play for him again.”

Blackburn 1 Arsenal 0 February 28, 2007 FA Cup Fifth Round

“The 87th minute defined my career in England. I ran along the touchline, cut inside onto my trusty right foot, turned the defender inside-out and released a thunderbolt into the top corner. After the match, the manager [Mark Hughes] said that I brought world-class quality to the team, so I was on Cloud Nine.”