Benni is ready to face City giants in Wembley finale
Manchester United assistant coach Benni McCarthy says hy skrik vir niks in Europe, as they gear up to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final tomorrow at Wembley at 4pm.
The Hanover Park-born Bafana Bafana legend and former Cape Town City coach was teaming up with fellow Bafana yster and ex-Manchester United player Quinton Fortune in an interview titled “Big dreams, limitless belief” on the club’s website.
In the video, released on Wednesday, McCarthy and Fortune talks about their journey from the Mother City to Old Trafford.
Asked what it was like growing up on the Cape flats, McCarthy says: “Quinton [Fortune] left [Cape Town] much younger than me. He left when he was 13-14, so he’d gone through a lot. But he also got out at the right time.
“I got left behind for three extra years and then I had to endure the gangster leagues and everything, but you know what? I wouldn’t change it for the world, because I think when you talk about toughness, you talk about having crocodile skin, you talk about that kind of upbringing.
“Now nothing fazes me, nothing. There’s not a single thing in Europe that scares me…”
McCarthy, who is in charge of United’s attack, will be hoping his fearless nature rubs off on his players as they face Pep Guardiola’s English champions tomorrow.
United enter the match on the back of their worst Premier League season to date, finishing eighth and looking to qualify for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup final.
And while he skriks vir niks in Europe, tomorrow’s Wembley decider will be big for Benni.
He says of his first “match” innie Kaapse ‘Wembley’: “My earliest memory is when we were playing U11… we painted goalposts on the sides of the flats and drew pitch lines from white chalk we stole from school in the courtyard. And that was like OUR Wembley Stadium and we would play there every day, rain or sunshine and we were in our element…”
City beat United 2-1 in last year’s FA Cup final.