Former Bafana Bafana striker and current Kenya national team coach Benni McCarthy has released his autobiography, Benni, offering a candid account of his journey from Hanover Park to the highest levels of world football.
The book’s release follows weeks of quiet anticipation after McCarthy first hinted at the project late last year.
Goes beyond goals and trophies
Co-authored with veteran football writer Mark Gleeson, the autobiography goes beyond a catalogue of goals and trophies.
Instead, it charts the full arc of McCarthy’s life, detailing personal struggles, career-defining moments and the lessons learned along the way.
Now 48, Benni McCarthy remains one of South Africa’s most significant football figures.
Raised in Hanover Park on the Cape Flats, his rise to elite European football is widely regarded as exceptional.
He remains the only South African player to have won the UEFA Champions League, lifting the trophy with Portuguese club Porto, and is still Bafana Bafana’s all-time leading goalscorer (31 goals in 79 matches).
Announcing the book’s release on social media, McCarthy emphasised the personal nature of the story.
“My new book is finally out. From gangland to greatness. The full story, the truth. I’m so proud of it,” he wrote on Instagram.
Comes full circle
The autobiography arrives as McCarthy’s career comes full circle, marking his transition from prolific striker to respected international coach.
While the book revisits the on-field moments that defined his playing career, it also explores broader themes such as identity, pressure, loss and survival.
With Benni now available, Benni McCarthy adds author to a legacy already shaped by records, firsts and reinvention – this time, in his own words.