All the weekend’s winners
FINAL: LEEUWENBURGH CITY’S HERO
Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy is probably the proudest man in the country right now after guiding his team to their second trophy and his first when they beat SuperSport United 4-1 on penalties at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday night.
McCarthy – who is in his second year as a head coach – said he had debunked a popular belief that it takes at least five years for a coach to start winning silverware and believes his success will open doors for more young coaches.
“I don’t look at it as mine alone – it was a collective effort. We planned it together. We were constantly on the phone sharing ideas until late at night.
“I am just the face. The one who gets the beating when we lose. It opens the door for young coaches that I have come and done it. Many believe you have to pay your dues first. You have to be at least five years into the job to even come close to winning your first cup. But I think if you work really hard it happens early,” he said.
He then jokingly added: “The bigger teams might be looking at us now. I think my chairman might have a problem keeping his coaching staff together now.”
McCarthy was one of the more successful players in his playing days and he won a number of medals at various clubs including the Uefa Champions League he won while at FC Porto 15 years ago and the Wafa-Wafa he won with Orlando Pirates five years ago. He feels this one is special in a different way.
“This ranks right at the top as a coach,” he said of his medal collection. “I can’t compare this one with the ones I won as a player because it is different. As a coach it is all about winning, because if you don’t you get fired,” he added.
McCarthy had asked his team to finish the game early because he feared the penalty shoot-out and he credited his goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh who saved two penalties for the homework he did on SuperSport’s penalty trends before the game.
“I had to touch my head to make sure I still had some hair left. It was tough. It was nerve-wracking. I was fearing going to penalties. I thought we would lose it. But we have Peter. He sat down with the goalkeeping coach and they went through all the matches SuperSport were involved in where it ended in penalties. Before that he already had a list of all possible penalty-takers. He was detailed in his approach and now that he has saved two penalties it shows just how somebody from outside can come and teach us new things,” said the 40-year-old.