Ten Hag outlines what Man Utd must do in Champions League quest
One of Erik ten Hag's former players, Peter Leeuwenburgh, has sung the praises of Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy after working under him in South Africa. The former Blackburn Rovers and West Ham striker is credited with the stark improvement seen in Marcus Rashford this season, with the forward on fire since the World Cup.
McCarthy was drafted in along with Ten Hag to put United back on the right track after a rocky 2021/22 season. The Dutchman has already established himself as an effective leader, while McCarthy has also taken care of his own duties by improving United's forward line.
The 45-year-old was a solid striker at Premier League level, finishing second only to Didier Drogba in the race for the 2006/07 Golden Boot as he left Ewood Park with a respectable strike rate. McCarthy also lays claim to a Champions League winners medal, scoring 25 goals in the season that Jose Mourinho won the competition with Porto.
The former South Africa international's traits have supposedly carried over well into coaching, with Red Devils insiders hailing the impact he has made at Old Trafford and claiming that he is a popular figure among players.
Benni McCarthy joined Erik ten Hag's Man Utd backroom team in the summer (Image: GETTY)
That sentiment is echoed by Dutch goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh, who worked under Ten Hag at Ajax and McCarthy during his time as Cape Town City manager. Leeuwenburgh claims that he and his former boss had built up a solid enough relationship after just four sessions to be thrown straight in at the deep end.
"Benni, for me, was one of the best coaches I ever had, especially the management side," he told KickOff. "Keeping everybody happy and together, he was very good at that. I had a lot of coaches and some were big names but he was one of the best.
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"I owe him a lot because he put me in straight away after only four training sessions. He gave me all of his trust so I will always appreciate and be thankful to him. I could see he has a lot of talent as a coach because he was young and inexperienced but he managed us so well. I still talk to him sometimes."
McCarthy eventually left Cape Town City in 2019 before a two-year spell in charge of AmaZulu preceded his role with United. The clearest benefit of his work since involves Rashford, who has already beaten his career-best goals tally for a single season with 24 in all competitions.
Peter Leeuwenburgh has worked under both Erik ten Hag and Benni McCarthy (Image: GETTY)
"He's definitely helped me a lot," explained the flying forward last year. "To have attack-minded coaches is good for us. He's always there speaking to us about these things."
Rashford has notched 16 in 17 games since the World Cup, putting him well ahead of any other striker in Europe in terms of goalscoring form. Karim Benzema is his nearest challenger with 10 in the same period, and the United star will have a chance to add to his impressive haul when Barcelona visit Old Trafford this week.
