AmaZulu head coach Benni McCarthy has hit back at his critics, stating his qualities were doubted when he was sacked at Cape Town City in 2019.
McCarthy, who was appointed in December 2020, has led AmaZulu to the CAF Champions League for the first time, following Usuthu’s 1-0 win over Swallows FC on Wednesday.
“I’m just extremely excited and happy for the players, you know. I think they deserve it, they have been fantastic throughout the season. Yes, I know people are saying that in the last two games we didn’t get a win and that we were off the pace. But when you have a 16-game unbeaten run, of course somewhere along the way people are going to take you off your pitch and that’s exactly what happened. But a champion is judged on how he gets up and how he moves forward,” said McCarthy to the club’s media after the game.
The coach also took time out to lash out at critics who had doubts about his qualities especially when club president Sandile Zungu’s statement at the start of the campaign was to make Usuthu a top four club in the league.
“And now we can go and see how everything else unfolds and who fights for number three and for number four. There’s other vibe that Champions League football is coming to the KZN region and we are super proud. I’m proud of AmaZulu players, I’m proud of the technical staff the guys that work with me and I’m proud of everyone who is associated with the club. We all deserve this and it’s not just me and the players and the team,” he said, in part.
“But now we want to enjoy the moment, I know there’s one more game to go but we are there. We’ve achieved the unthinkable. When I joined the president said he wanted a top four finish people said he was crazy and when I joined people said I was overrated. I was fired from Cape Town City and that I was going to fail and that I’m not a good coach. So, I wonder now who’s the one laughing last. This is how a failure looks like,” concluded McCarthy.
It is a good end to the season for Usuthu and McCarthy can indeed say he has proven all of his critics wrong.