Andile Jali reveals how Benni McCarthy ended racial divisions at Pirates 

Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Andile Jali has laid bare how Benni McCarthy’s signing brought together a dressing room that had been divided along racial lines.

McCarthy joined Pirates in 2011 after a less than impressive stint at English Premier League side West Ham and also on the back of a poor relationship with Bafana Bafana.

He went on to rediscover his scoring touch by leading Pirates to three trophies, MTN8, Telkom Knockout and the PSL, the latter won in 2012, the last time the Buccaneers won the league.

Andile Jali lauds Benni McCarthy

But behind the scenes, McCarthy had a far bigger impact on the squad as according to Jali, there had been two camps at the club, one of coloured players and another of black ones, who operated differently despite playing for the same team, something that the Bafana Bafana all-time top scorer ended.

“Benni McCarthy brought unity to Pirates,” Jali said on The Arena Show. “There was a time where there were cliques in the team, the black and coloured, something that Benni broke down. He insisted there is one Pirates, it’s all black.”

Bafana legend’s impact on Pirates

Jali believes McCarthy’s success in Europe, where he played for Ajax Amsterdam, Celta Vigo, FC Porto and Blackburn Rovers, made it easy to get players together as he had their respect and when he spoke, they listened, making it easy to heal a fractured dressing room.

“It was then we started doing things together as a team,” Jali added. “We even started doing lunch altogether and sitting altogether in one place; not coloured on the other side and blacks on the other side.”

McCarthy scored 13 goals and added six assists in 39 games for Pirates, coming up with a number of clutch moments for the Buccaneers, during his time at the club which turned him into a cult hero among fans.