‘That man knows how to coach’: Nomvethe says Benni will do well with Kenya

Benni McCarthy “knows how to coach” and should do well with the Kenya national team, though he needs time to establish the lay of the land in the East African country, his former teammate and coaching colleague Siyabonga Nomvethe said.

Former Kaizer Chiefs and Udinese star Nomvethe played with McCarthy for the South African U-23 team and Bafana Bafana and was his assistant coach at AmaZulu.

McCarthy started while Nomvethe came off the bench and scored in the famous 3-1 win against Brazil by Shakes Mashaba’s U-23s at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Nomvethe was assistant to McCarthy at AmaZulu from December 2020 to March 2022, including steering Usuthu to second place in the Premiership in 2020-2021.

After leaving the Durban club, McCarthy worked as forwards coach for Manchester United under manager Erik ten Hag from mid-2022 to June 2024. He was appointed coach of Kenya, with former Orlando Pirates teammate and Usuthu goalkeeper coach Moeneeb Josephs, on March 3.

“It was nice to work with Benni. He’s my friend, he’s my teammate, he’s everything,” said Nomvethe, speaking at a two-day youth tournament sponsored by Trellidor for whom he is an ambassador, in Soweto last week.

“When Benni came and approached me to join the coaching staff as AmaZulu, it [the deal] happened because I was giving him full support, because I know things in Durban.

“We had played for the U-23s, for Bafana and it was so easy to work with a person like Benni.

“He’s a good coach. No doubt. That man is too clever and he knows how to coach. He’s got the Uefa Pro — when you have that it shows you know something about coaching.

“I rate him as the best young [South African] coach.”

McCarthy described Kenya as a “sleeping giant”. The Harambee Stars have lagged behind other sides from East Africa — one of the weakest regions on the continent for many decades — who have been enjoying a resurgence in club and national football such as Tanzania, Sudan, Madagascar and even Comoros.

Nomvethe said McCarthy will have to do a crash course on Kenyan football to succeed there.

“Definitely he will do well. But you know sometimes as a new coach you have to read the players, you have to check how many are playing locally and how many in Europe.

“You still have to look around and find the right pattern to use all those players to accommodate them.”

McCarthy goes straight into action with Kenya as they play 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Gambia away (the match is being staged in Ivory Coast) on Thursday and home against Gabon at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday.

Kenya are in fourth place in group F with five points, behind Ivory Coast (10 points), Gabon (nine) and Burundi (seven), with Gambia (three) in fifth place and Seychelles (zero) last.

Nomvethe also played for Salernitana and Empoli in Italy, Djurgården in Sweden, Aalborg in Denmark, Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows. McCarthy, Bafana's all-time top scorer, starred for Ajax Amsterdam, Celta Vigo, FC Porto, Blackburn and Pirates.