Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy has received praise for bringing modern coaching methods to Kenya.
McCarthy has been coach of the Harambee Stars since March, overseeing four games, which he has won one, drawn two and lost another, but his methods seem to be rubbing off on his players.
One of the players who have hugely benefited from the former Cape Town City and AmaZulu coach’s arrival in Kenya is playmaker Mohammed Bajaber who was handed his national team debut by McCarthy during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March.
What has McCarthy changed in Kenya?
Bajaber says McCarthy has brought a different coaching dynamic to Kenya that most players in the country had not experienced before while his man-management is top notch.
“Our local coaches are not in tune with technology like coach Benni and others in Europe. He knows how to handle players either one-on-one and in front of others. He is friendly, he knows when to joke and be serious,” Bajaber said on Kenya’s Radio Jambo.
“His training is intense but not long like we do here. It is one hour or one-and-a-half hours, not two or three hours like we do in Kenya,” he added.
Benni looking to impress at CHAN 2024
Bajaber, who scored a wonder goal on his debut as Kenya came from behind to draw 3-3 with The Gambia in March, says McCarthy also has the ability to lift a player’s spirit which makes them want to go the extra mile for him.
“In the game against The Gambia, he told me to go and enjoy and leave everything on the pitch. After the game he told me; ‘well done and I trust you’ and I felt nice because it is something I had been working on,” added the forward, who plays for newly-crowned Kenyan Premier League champions Kenya Police.
McCarthy is now preparing his team for the 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN 2024) which Kenya will co-host alongside Uganda and Tanzania in August with Harambee Stars in a tough Group A against Morocco, DR Congo, Angola and Zambia.
