There is good and bad in Benni McCarthy’s altercation with Bidvest Wits’ players and staff after the Telkom Knockout final at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium last Saturday.
Firstly, it was bad for him to remonstrate with his former Bafana Bafana teammate and now Wits assistant coach Eric Tinkler. Benni had raised Tinkler’s ire when he “trampled” on defender Sipho Mngomezulu.
When he left the pitch when he was substituted with Pirates already 3-1, McCarthy made a disparaging gesture towards the Wits bench, apparently to taunt his ex-Bafana mate. Then at final whistle a victorious Benni boisterously threw expletives at Tinkler, and had to be restrained by Pirates’ staff.
Even doubly bad was McCarthy’s rejection of the mandatory post-match handshake attempt by Wits striker Ryan Chapman. He alleged lashed out at Chapman, forgetting that the aspiring young striker is a homeboy from Cape Town, who grew up idolizing him at the height of his international career.
He was on Chapmans’ case the whole week ahead of the final match. Personally I thought it was good brinkmanship helping the hype around the big match.
However for both incidents, Benni gets zero for sportsmanship. He set a bad example for children watching at the stadium and more at home in front of their TVs. He’s too smart to go down this way so I hope he will have a different take on the matter when the dust settles down, and do the right thing.
The most magnanimous thing I hope to see him do is for him to visit Chapman and apologise – and, of course, shake his hand.
McCarthy’s outrage also has some positives, if you look closely enough. Well, the first good I have already candidly referred to above, about him helping to sell the game. PSL players are generally mutes who contribute nothing towards selling matches as they virtually have nothing to say. Even when they do open their mouths, what comes out is a forgettable murmur that would probably send fans and opposition to sleep than inject an adrenalin rush ahead of coming hostilities.
So, in my book, McCarthy did well in the run up of the Telkom Knockout to sell the game with his bombastic and cocky approach. He said Wits would pay for the 3-1 drubbing they gave the Buccaneers a little over two weeks earlier. He also used some psychological mumbo-jumbo to numb Chapman, who in the run up to the final, was the hottest striker in the country.
So the public wanted to see this, how “loudmouth” Benni himself would shape up in the final match. The stadium was sold out and taverns and other watching venues were overflowing, not only with Pirates supporters and Wits sympathizers, but with soccer fans from all persuasions of the beautiful game. You did it Benni.
Another good is that Benni is bringing a new mentality into the Bucs camp, a fighting spirit. Pirates won the treble last season without McCarthy, which means they knew how to win. They also fought back bravely several occasions to avoid defeats – mostly forcing late-minute draws. Benni McCarthy is saying this game is not for sissies – the fight to win is not over even after the final whistle. This is the attitude Pirates players are going to need if they wish to keep the momentum going for a long time. And more than that, they are going to need this mentality when their campaign in the CAF Champions League begin later in February.
Many SA teams have complained of tough conditions when out playing on the continent. Of course Africa is tough, and we know that full well because its our continent and we grew up here. The lack of fighting back against hostility on their travels is what has kept SA teams far from the honours table in African football for a long time.
So, like him or loathe him, Benni is here to kick butt and that’s what the PSL and Orlando Pirates need to step up.
Comments
Post a Comment