Benni McCarthy linked to vacant Ajax Cape Town head coach post

Rumours abound that Benni McCarthy could return to coaching in Cape Town after Ajax parted ways with boss Andries Ulderink this week.

Ulderink drops a bomb on the Urban Warriors

Ulderink delivered his bombshell resignation on Friday 31 January 2020 having helped the club to the top of the National First Division.

The club have acknowledged his resignation but have yet to issue any sort of explanation or reasoning behind the resignation of their Dutch head coach.

Ajax Cape Town are in prime position to end their exile from the Premiership but could do without a lengthy delay in the appointment of a head coach.

Assistant coach Calvin Marlin will take charge of the team for their trip to Bethlehem to face Free State Stars in an NFD match on Saturday 1 February.

McCarthy is a good candidate for the job

McCarthy had been linked to Scottish outfit Heart of Midlothian before they appointed German Daniel Stendel to the position of manager.

Ajax Cape Town have denied making any contact with the 42-year-old former Bafana Bafana striker, but reports claim his name has been mentioned as a possible successor to Ulderink.

“There has been no contact between us and Ajax Cape Town regarding Benni McCarthy,” McCarthy’s agent Lance Davids confirmed that the club have not made contact with the former Cape Town City boss.

McCarthy took charge of Cape Town City in 2017 and guided them to fourth place last season, remaining in the title frame until the final weeks of the season. McCarthy’s relationship with the top brass of the club deteriorated as the head coach railed against John Comitis’ transfer policy. After a poor start to the 2019/20 season, McCarthy was shown the door.

Precocious as a player he has proven to have similar qualities as a head coach, McCarthy has learned from the best during his career in football including Jose Mourinho during his spell at Porto.

Ajax and McCarthy already inextricably linked

McCarthy broke through the ranks at Cape Town’s Sevens Stars, a club that merged with Cape Town Spurs to form Ajax Cape Town. McCarthy left Stars at 19 to join Ajax Amsterdam.

The former striker was arguably the biggest factor in Ajax Amsterdam’s decision to expand their worldwide talent-feeder network to South Africa in 1999.

Ajax head into their clash against Free State Stars knowing victory will see them go five points clear at the top of the NFD table.