Benni McCarthy, an ex-football player turned Manchester United coach, has transformed Marcus Rashford’s style of play.
McCarthy, 45, joined Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff last summer and has been credited with rekindling Rashford’s scoring touch this season. Last summer, critics urged United to sell Rashford, and there were fears he would be left out of England’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
Rashford, on the other hand, has played a key role in United’s quest for the quadruple this season, as the club has surged up the Premier League table since McCarthy’s arrival. Rashford has 24 goals and nine assists in all competitions under the South African coach’s tutelage.
Ten Hag brought in McCarthy to bolster his attack because he lacked the ability to do so like the former Blackburn Rovers striker.
Ten Hag explained his decision to hire McCarthy: “In our coaching staff, we had a lot of defenders and midfield players. I was looking for a good balance. As a former striker, he is offensive-minded, which is a very specific task in the team.
“I’ve never played there, so I’m fortunate to have someone on my staff who has. Football is all about scoring points. You have a goalkeeping specialist, but you also have offensive specialists, and we have a scoring coach in particular.”
And, according to the Daily Mail, McCarthy’s one-on-one sessions with Rashford, which include a focus on heading, have transformed the forward into a complete attacker, armed with more confidence. “He’s definitely helped me a lot,” Rashford said of McCarthy’s influence. Having attack-minded coaches is beneficial to us. He’s always talking to us about these issues.”
McCarthy, on the other hand, has demonstrated his prowess away from the training field in the past as a lothario dating Playboy pin-ups and models before getting married on two separate occasions.
The ex-Porto man got hitched to Spanish sweetheart Maria Santos in the 2003/04 season, and they went onto have three kids until they split in 2007.
McCarthy wasn’t alone for long, as he met former Miss Edinburgh Stacey Munro while filming a Nike commercial in Edinburgh. They married in 2014 in a Scottish ceremony in which McCarthy wore a kilt, and they now have a son and a daughter.
McCarthy’s methods have benefited more than just Rashford. Before his fallout and departure from Manchester United, the tactician assisted Cristiano Ronaldo in scoring 700 goals for the club.
»Benni McCarthy helped Marcus Rashford improve his game«
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