Benni McCarthy: Harambee Stars Coach Finally Unleashes Highly-Awaited Biography

Football fans who would like to read the life story of Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy now have a chance after the release of his biography titled ‘BENNI.’

McCarthy has shared his unfiltered football story with the rest of the world with the biography giving fans an inside look into his personal life as well as football career.

Co-authored by McCarthy and veteran football writer and commentator Mark Gleeson, the biography is published by Pan Macmillan South Africa and has a foreword by legendary manager Jose Mourinho, who coached the Harambee Stars boss at FC Porto.

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"Benni had everything that a coach loves in a player,” reads part of the foreword from Mourinho, who won two Portuguese league titles and the 2004 UEFA Champions League with McCarthy as his striker.

The biography provides accounts of McCarthy’s journey from the gang-ridden streets of Hanover Park on the Cape Flats to the grandest stages of world football and he hopes it will inspire others to succeed in their careers even if facing difficulties.

“Out in the bookshops today,” Gleeson posted on X, revealing that the project is now ready with fans able to snap up the copies.

The publishing firm Pan Macmillan also expressed delight at having the book in stores, lauding McCarthy and Gleeson for putting in the effort to ensure the book was done.

“Happy Publication Day to the much-anticipated memoir, BENNI,” Pan Macmillan wrote on Instagram.

“Written with Mark Gleeson, this memoir shows how Benni has gone from growing up in the ganglands of the Cape Flats to playing at some of the biggest arenas in sport, moving from South Africa as a teenager to become a much-prized player at clubs in the Netherlands, Spain and England.”

McCarthy’s football journey took him through Seven Stars and then Ajax Cape Town in South Africa before signing for Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager in 1997, going on to win the Eredivisie and two Dutch Cups after which he moved to Spanish side Celta Vigo in 1999.

He played at Celta for four seasons, in between a loan spell at FC Porto (2001-02) before moving to the Portuguese club permanently in 2003, staying there until 2006, when he joined Premier League club Blackburn Rovers.

McCarthy would sign for West Ham after four years at Blackburn, spending two years at the West London club, before finishing his career with a flourish back home with Orlando Pirates where he led them to the league title in 2012, their last one to date.

He started his coaching journey with learning stints at Scottish club Hibernian and then at Sint-Truiden in Belgium before landing his first job as head coach with South African side Cape Town City in June 2017.

He led Cape Town City to the 2018 MTN8 title, their last trophy, but left in November 2019 and after a year out, he was installed as coach of AmaZulu in December 2020, guiding the club to second place, their best ever finish.

That earned them a place in the CAF Champions League for the 2021-22 season and he saw them into the group stages but left the club in March 2022.

McCarthy got a chance to work at English Premier League side Manchester United in July 2024 when he was hired as attacking coach under then manager Erik ten Hag and spent two seasons before leaving at the end of his contract.

South Africa’s all-time top scorer was unveiled as Harambee Stars coach in March 2025 on a two-year deal that will take his stint up to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.