Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy has revealed the special bond he shares with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes.
McCarthy worked with Fernandes for two years at United when he was the attacking coach at the club and the pair became more than friends not just because of their spell in Manchester but what South Africa’s all-time top scorer did in the past.
The former Cape Town City and AmaZulu coach shared how his three-year spell at Portuguese club FC Porto brought them even closer given the midfielder grew up in a family of the club’s supporters and lived closer to the famous Estadio do Dragao.
Why did Bruno and Benni become so close?
“Bruno grew up from Porto not far from the Dragao Stadium so his family is all Portistas [FC Porto fans]. He grew up in Porto, Bruno and Diogo (Dalot). Diogo was still playing in the U12 when I was at Porto so he was there when I was also there,” McCarthy told SuperSport TV.
“Bruno’s family when they all come [to the stadium], he is this amazing and when he comes Man United fans are like: ‘Bruno, Bruno, Bruno.’ But his family is like: ‘Benni, Benni, Benni [while taking photos]’”
McCarthy says that spell in Porto helped him enjoy a good working relationship with Fernandes who was always keen to learn from him and do some of the things he executed as a player.
“Because they saw me, they came to Porto to watch when I was there. So, me and Bruno just have a different [relationship]. He would always remind me; ‘Hey, remember you used to take freekicks like that, can we work on it’,” he added.
McCarthy’s spell in Porto made his Man United work easier
“Bruno would ask me. He was the player that asked me the most to work on things because obviously he watched me play and he idolised Cristiano Ronaldo but he [also] idolised that generation of Portugal football.”
McCarthy played for Porto from 2003 to 2006, winning two league titles as well as the 2004 UEFA Champions League crown.
Fernandes, meanwhile, was born in Maia, in the metropolitan area of Porto, and started his career at local club Infesta before a spell at Boavista, after rejecting an offer to join the Porto youth academy.
He would later play for Italian club Sampdoria after which he returned home to join Sporting Lisbon, who he left in January 2020 for United.
