South African football legend, Benni McCarthy spoke about how he dealt with moving to Europe as a youngster.
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The story
One of South Africa's greatest football exports, Benni McCarthy is back on Mzansi shores and in a recent interview, opened up about moving to Europe from Cape Town.
McCarthy, who is Bafana Bafana's all-time top goal scorer, left Seven Stars for Ajax Amsterdam in 1997 as a teenager to launch what would be a successful stay in Europe.
McCarthy made a strong impact at Ajax, where he scored 23 goals in just over 50 appearances from 1997 to 1999, before moving to LaLiga outfit, Celta Vigo.
After scoring 27 goals for the Spanish side, he was snapped up by FC Porto, where he played under and enjoyed a special relationship with José Mourinho.
McCarthy remains the only South African to ever win the prestigious UEFA Champions League after doing so with the Portuguese giants in 2004.
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Speaking on the SuperSport Unplugged podcast, McCarthy looked back on the time he left Cape Town for Amsterdam in the late 90's.
"I left when I was 17, I was in Amsterdam, [it was] unbelievable, but I was alone. You know, it was the best time of my life, my first time leaving South Africa, so, I experienced so many things. I had to parent myself at 17-years-old because I was alone, out there in the world by myself and I was a foreigner.
"I suffered abuse like, 'Go back to Africa, jungle is calling you, a banana is coming your way,' you know I had to suck it up because that's what it was like back then. From Amsterdam, I went to Spain and then I found it even more difficult, because at least they could at least speak English in Amsterdam.
"In Spain? I had to learn a completely new language. I would miss trainings, because I didn't know there was training," stated Benni, adding that he couldn't even communicate with his Spanish-speaking teammates.
"It was tough and being an African was tougher because being in Spain? Sometimes, it felt like you were in the jungle on the pitch. I used spend around, 70, 80, R100 000 a month, just on the phone, I would be on the phone until I fell asleep. No one made you feel at home, make you feel like you're apart of something. I was always the African, always the foreigner.
McCarthy mentioned how refreshing it was to join FC Porto and welcomed he was made to feel at the Portuguese giants.
Watch below, with McCarthy explaining how Jose Mourinho inspired him to become the coach he is today:
Skip to minute 22:54 to hear Benni reflecting on his move to Europe...
Benni enjoyed a 14-year spell in Europe which included spells with English outfits Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United.
At Blackburn, he finished second in the 2006/07 Premier League Golden Boot race, two goals behind Didier Drogba's tally of 20, and edged Cristiano Ronaldo by one goal.
Aged 34, fresh of the disappointment of missing out on selection for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, McCarthy joined Orlando Pirates for what turned out to be a domestic treble-winning 2011/12 campaign.
Watch part 2 of Benni's SuperSport Unplugged interview below:
@supersportofficial Benni McCarthy gave us a PART 2! In this episode of #SuperSportUnplugged : UCL Reloaded, McCarthy delves into South African football, tells us who he thinks the best players in the country are, what it takes for #BafanaBafana to get even better, and tells us his best African players of all time. #AFCON #FIFAWorldCup #BenniMcCarthy ? original sound - SuperSportTV
