Benni McCarthy Compares Kaizer Chiefs Struggles to Manchester United’s - ‘Something is Missing’

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has compared the struggles of South African giants Kaizer Chiefs to those of English Premier League side Manchester United.

Both clubs are the most successful and most popular in their respective countries but have fallen off in the last decade with Chiefs last winning the Premier Soccer League crown in 2015 while United were last Premier League champions in 2013 under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Since then, Chiefs have only managed one trophy; last season’s Nedbank Cup, with their best finish being second place in 2020 but hit an all-time low in the last two campaigns with a 10th and then ninth place finish.

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Similarly United have won a number of cups, Europa League, Carabao Cup twice and a couple of FA Cups since Ferguson retired but the big trophies have eluded them while they have been struggling to qualify for the Champions League and were among relegation candidates last season before finishing 14th.

McCarthy, who is a Chiefs fan and has expressed a desire to coach the team, worked at United for two years as their attacking coach, and sees a number of similarities between the two clubs.

“For outsiders, it’s impossible to speculate why this, why that,” McCarthy told South African outlet iDiski Times. “Because the one thing I can tell you is that they are the most well-run, well-organised football club in this country – the support and everything."

“So, it’s like, it’s genuinely watching Man United because now I can compare because I’ve been there [at Man United], and the feeling that you get is Chiefs is exactly like Man United," he stated.

“They are a phenomenal football club, great history. They’ve got the fans. The club is well-run, it is well-organised, and they have everything that you want in a football club. But unfortunately, on the football field, it’s not coming together; something is missing, it’s not working.”

McCarthy believes both clubs have the potential of regaining their lost glory but have to fix certain things that are holding them back.

“They need to figure that out; they need to find a solution. Because once they can get that card right, then good luck to all the other teams,” he added, saying one of Chiefs’ problems is the lack of confidence among their players.

“Where are they now in the league? Fifth, right? So, they must not be bad. They must be okay if they are in the top five in the league. But I think they don’t want that,” he went on.

“Okay, they want to be challenging for cups, challenging for the league title, being in a three-horse race instead of just Orlando Pirates and [Mamelodi] Sundowns as it is now. So, yeah, I’m sure whatever coach they decide to get, or if they keep these guys, they have to fix the team. Because that’s a problem, I think.

“Confidence is low within that football club, because if you lose four games on the bounce, then there’s a confidence issue. But players don’t become bad players overnight after four games and that.”

The South African legend feels Chiefs players lack proper coaching which can elevate their game in what appears to be a dig at current co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef.

“So, I think they just need coaching. They just need somebody to restore what got them, what got Kaizer Chiefs to want to sign them, because they were good at what they were doing. That’s why they accepted clubs like Chiefs to sign them,” McCarthy weighed in.