The South African football legend and striker, McCarthy, 44, will add to Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff. McCarthy is a full blooded Manchester United fan.
McCarthy communicates in four dialects and has been functioning as a supervisor in South Africa’s top division at Cape Town City and Amazulu.
He was named 2020-21 South African Premier League Coach of the Year and in May of 2021 was extended — and turned down — the employment opportunity as lead trainer of the South African senior national team.
As a striker, he played for Seven Stars in his local Cape Town, Ajax, Celta Vigo, FC Porto, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham and Orlando Pirates. He played 79 times for South Africa and is the nation’s unsurpassed leading scorer, as well as the only South African to win the Champions League.
In 2004, McCarthy scored two astounding goals for Jose Mourinho’s Porto side to thump United out of that competition.
“I support Man United and always wanted to play for them,” he said. “I loved players like Mark Hughes, Andy Cole and Ryan Giggs.
“So I was heartbroken to score twice. My dream was to score once at Old Trafford, not to knock United out of the Champions League. I got hammered after the game by Jose Mourinho because I wasn’t very happy. He told me that if I didn’t cheer up then I’d never play in his team again.”
McCarthy knows about the Manchester region having lived there when he played for Blackburn. During that time, he likewise had a decent connection with the then-youthful Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
