My Dream Team

A sure selection in most ex-Bafana Bafana players’ Dream Team, national icon Benni McCarthy selects a world-renowned star-studded team of footballers he once shared the pitch with.

1 Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar

I played with him at Ajax Amsterdam, and he was the best in the business. He was equally good with both his left and right foot, and played more like an infield player than a goalkeeper, and was absolutely exceptional. He probably made me the striker I am as he pulled me aside every day at training to make me work on my finishing, which made me a more accurate striker as I was up against the best all the time.

2 Right-back: Paolo Ferreira

My teammate at Porto. He’s the most consistent player I’ve seen in the game. He’d never let the team or the manager down down, andd was the h nicest guy in f football b ll that h you could meet. He was a consistent performer in that he wouldn’t give you 10/10, but he’d give you 8/10 every single game.

3 Left-back: Stephen Warnock

“Quasimodo”, as I called him, was my teammate at Blackburn Rovers. His calves were bigger than most players’ thighs, and he was a solid, no-nonsense defender with a good offensive ability, but when it came to defending, I’ve never seen anyone love defending as much as he did – he used to kick the crap out of wingers and strikers, and loved hurting people! But he was very reliable, and he hardly ever had a bad game.

4 Centre-back: Ricardo Carvalho

I played with him at Porto. His positioning and his intelligence was superb; he was quick, could play with the ball at his feet, and strikers could never beat him with their tricks. He was just all-round the best defender I’ve ever seen, and best I I’ve ve played with and againstt i – I came up against him at Chelsea, and I could not get one past him as he out-smarted me every time, as he knew me too well.

5 Centre-back: Lucas Radebe

Lucas was a huge figure, and had such huge stature. He was incredible at sweeping – his movement and defending was top-notch, and he was more than just a defender. He didn’t do anything fancy, but did the simple things well, and that’s what was amazing about Lucas and why he got legendary status at Leeds United. He was definitely one of the best central defenders I’ve been in a team with.

6 Central-midfield: Sunday Oliseh

I played with him at Ajax Amsterdam. When you talk about a leader, someone who could perfectly join the midfield and defence and keep everyone organised in their positions, that was Sunday. He was like a father to everyone, and would always give us advice on the pitch. He was the best destroyer I have seen – a no-nonsense, hard tackler, but with the ball at his feet, he could pass long or short, and play great through-balls as well. Sunday had it all.

7 Right wing: Sibusiso Zuma

Zuma was exceptional.exceptional He was skilful, and could do things you wouldn’t even imagine trying in a game. Our communication and the relationship we had was second-to-none. He was quick, and could do everything: he was a goal-scoring winger, he could put in an exceptional cross, he had flair and skill, and could do a lot of things.

8 Central-midfield: Claude Makelele

I played with him at Celta Vigo, before he went to Real Madrid. Now we watch N’Golo Kante in that position, with his mobility and interception rate second-to-none, but the person who started it all in that role was Makelele. He was the best holding midfielder of my time, and he could do everything: he could play,play break up play,play intercept and even chipped in with a goal here and there.

9 Forward: Roque Santa Cruz

My teammate at Blackburn, Roque was a ball-player and good with his feet, and the best headerer I’ve seen in the game. As good as most players were with their feet, Roque was good with his head, and he would chip in with a great amount of goals.

10 Attacking midfield: John Moshoeu

“Shoes” is a player that helped me a lot in my early days, teaching me how to improve and better my game. His creativity was unbelievable, and in my Bafana days, I scored a lot of goals from through-passes from Shoes – there was great chemistry between us.

11 Left wi ng: Mic chae el Laudrup

Michael, my teeamm mate at Ajax, is a Danish legend, and prroba bly the best player I’ve ever playedd wit th. His skill levels were sublime, how heh tu urned a difficult pass into such a simmple one and how he made foootba all genuinely look like it was w being played on a computer. Everything about him was class and elegance e – his movement, his passing choice, his range and a the t weight of his passes we re pe erfect. You don’t get footb ball played p as perfect as how Michael play yed. He was the quickest thinker I’ve e eve er seen on a football pitch as well.

e’s an icon, the only South African Uefa hampions League winner and Bafana afana’s all-time leading goal scorer, nd it’s therefore only natural that every otballer we’ve interviewed that played r South Africa over the first decade of e century has picked Benni McCarthy n their Dream Team. So who, then, does enni himself select? Here the former ape Town Spurs, Ajax Amsterdam, elta Vigo, FC Porto, Blackburn Rovers, est Ham United and Orlando Pirates t riker handpicks a star-studded squad of e ammates he played alongside in a 4-2-1 formation that could easily rival some of the best teams in the world at present.