South Africa's greatest footballer Benni McCarthy retires at 35: the full statement here, updating as we go

Winner: Benni McCarthy won the Champions League with Porto

BENNI McCARTHY, South Africa’s greatest modern footballer, has retired. The 35-year-old released this statement through his agency last night. Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza says he knows nothing about the news so this story may yet have some legs.

We can debate the controversies and the torrid final season all we want, but the fact is, the man from humble roots in Hanover Park, Cape Town, went on to play in Holland, Portugal (where he won the Champions League with Jose Mourinho), Spain and England (where he was Blackburn Rovers' top scorer, second only to Chelsea's Didier Drogba). He won the League Championships with Ajax, Porto and Pirates, the only South African to win titles in three countries. His $8m move to Spain's Celta Vigo in 1999 remains the nation's highest fee.

Final fling: Benni at Pirates

His return to South Africa late in his career was widely lampooned after he was fined for weight gain during a disastrous spell at West Ham, but his goals propelled the Buccaneers to a second-successive treble.

He was there when it mattered, using those years of experience to pop home the vital goals and he took the Soweto derby by storm with a brace. On the last day of the 2011-2012 season, it was Benni who scored the two goals which put paid to Golden Arrows and clinched the title for caretaker coach Augusto Palacios.

I wrote this after the derby for The New Age, accepting McCarthy still offered great value for a reputed R6m annual wage which made him the highest-paid player in the country: http://www.thenewage.co.za/mobi/Detail.aspx?NewsID=2142&Mid=186&CatID=. Benni's absence this season - due to injury and age - was the principle reason behind the double-winning success of arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs. A couple of incidents of goal-poaching from Big Benni might well have made 2012-2013 a very different story.

And now he's gone. There is disbelief from Pirates fans today, and Dr Khoza himself seems mystified amid reports of McCarthy being prepared to play for another season following a tweet from his agent Rob Moore saying just that on May 28.

On the http://www.carlingblacklabel.co.za/bethecoach/players/2 website, where fans vote to decide which player should represent their team in the pre-season friendly between Orlando Pirates and Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs, Benni has a team leading 224,999 votes from a hopeful Ghost. But popular demand will count for nothing if King Benni has abdicated.

Here are the words from McCarthy himself at the end of a career which sees him hang up his boots as South Africa’s only Champions League winner and Bafana’s top goal scorer:

“I have been so blessed to have enjoyed a remarkable career that took me from the township fields of Nyanga Stadium, to winner’s medals in the Uefa Champions League and World Club Cup - the highest levels that a player can achieve in club football.

“I retire having represented my country at senior level 80 times and scored a record 31 goals. Two Soccer World Cup finals, in France and Korea/Japan, an Olympic Games and a u-20 World Cup Finals will be memories that live in my heart forever.

“And to have come home to South Africa for a final chapter, and to have won the treble with Orlando Pirates, was the type of finale that only dreams are made of.

“It has been a 17-year professional career that surpassed even my own expectations and I’ve been privileged to have played under many great Coaches, including the very best, Jose Mourinho.

“Football has been good to me – it has provided special moments and in the process, has enabled me to have been in a position to have improved the lives of my family members. For that, I am most grateful.

“I’d like to thank so many people for making so many aspects of this journey possible. My family has always been a tremendous support, especially my mom, Dora, and my late father, Dudley. I trust that I have made them proud in some small way.

“Sponsors, like Nike, who have been there for me for the past 15 years and I appreciate that. And finally, my mentor and business manager, Rob Moore, who has walked along this road with me since I joined him in 1995 as a 17-year-old.

“Football is my life. I have played the game and I love the game…….it’s in my blood. For the next chapter, I’d like to concentrate on getting my Coaching Badges and at the same time, be part of a club where I can get practical experience. I’d also like to do some television work because I enjoy that aspect of the game as well.”

I'll be updating this story through the day - and you can follow the live situation on my twitter timeline at www.twitter.com/nealcol.

The feel Goodison factor: Steven Pienaar ready to go back where he belongs

Supreme being: Steven Pienaar scores against Man U

Steven Pienaar’s frustrating 18 months at Tottenham Hotspur will end this week as South Africa’s iconic midfielder returns to Everton for a fee in the region of £5m (R60m).

While top players like Eleazar Rodgers change hands for a maximum of  a mere £550,000 (R7m) in the land of his birth, Goodison Park’s notoriously thrifty supremo Bill Kenwright is prepared to break the bank for Schilla, the Westbury wizard whose return to Everton on loan from Spurs revived the Toffees’ season last January.

With the side languishing in 12^th position before the loan danger’s arrival, Pienaar’s four goals and club-best six assists saw David Moyes’ side finish in seventh position – four points clear of neighbours Liverpool – and Moyes himself accepts: “Stevie just fits with Everton. My job is to get Pienaar back, I’ve been working at that for some time now. I know he’d like to be here.”

According to my sources, after an uncertain summer both clubs believe Pienaar will be playing for Everton when they kick-off the new Premier League season against Manchester United – who landed for their South African tour yesterday – at Goodison Park on August 20.

It was Pienaar’s £3m (R36m) cut-price move from Everton to Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham in January 2011 which led to my fall-out with South Africa’s “superagent” Rob Moore.

At the time, I said on SuperSport’s Thursday Night Live with Robert Marawa that it was a poor move. Moore called me from Barcelona and insisted I apologise for that statement but anybody could have told him Harry had enough midfielders on board in North London, with transformed Welsh full-back Gareth Bale having just made Pienaar’s left-of-midfield channel his own.

Now 30, Pienaar said at the time he was going to Spurs for Champions League football. Sadly, Tottenham fell just short of the top four in 2011 and were forced out when Chelsea won the trophy this year. And he made few friends among the notoriously fickle Spurs fans when he tweeted “well done Chelsea” after their rivals’ shock penalty shoot-out win over Bayern Munich that clinched the final European berth.

Pienaar’s contract was coming to an end at Goodison and with compatriot Bongani Khumalo also bound for Spurs at the time, it may have looked an attractive option. Less than two years later, Khumalo finds himself shipped out to Greek outfit PAOK Thessaloniki and Pienaar is “not needed” by new Spurs boss Andre Villas Boas.

The South African pair are not alone in leaving White Hart Lane – England midfielder Jermaine Jenas, French veteran William Gallas, England striker Jermain Defoe and Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes are among a long list of not-so-Hotspurs with “for sale” written across their foreheads.

Croatian Luca Modric, set to be sold to Real Madrid before the transfer window closes, may open up a space in midfield, but with Bale, Rafa van der Vaart, Scott Parker and Aaron Lennon staying put as the new boys Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen were unveiled last week, there is apparently no room for Pienaar despite his form for Everton last season.

The Bafana Bafana captain – who may yet the armband taken from him by new coach Gordon Igesund – was not included in the 25-strong picture of the Spurs squad in their new kit last week.

The Pienaar effect:

Before Pienaar’s return, Everton were 14^th in the Premier League.

After his arrival they were transformed in to the third-best side in the league.

Everton won 43% of their games with Pienaar, 37.5% without him.

Without Pienaar, Everton scored just 24 in 24 games. With him, they scored 26 in 14.

Pienaar played just 14 times for Everton but ended the season with the most assists, six.

In his half-season, Pienaar created 32 chances, third best among Everton players.

He also led the way in passes, pass accuracy and through balls.

For more of Pienaar’s incredible stats:

http://www.eplindex.com/14856/everton-steven-pienaar-vital-dispensable-opta-stats.html

My previous blogs concerning Steve Pienaar, Everton, Spurs and Rob Moore (note his comments):

 http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-moore-is-less-re-appointed-bafana.html

http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/02/curious-tale-of-steven-pienaars-year-at.htmlSteven Pienaar’s frustrating 18 months at Tottenham Hotspur will end this week as South Africa’s iconic midfielder returns to Everton for a fee in the region of £5m (R60m).

While top players like Eleazar Rodgers change hands for a maximum of  a mere £550,000 (R7m) in the land of his birth, Goodison Park’s notoriously thrifty supremo Bill Kenwright is prepared to break the bank for Schilla, the Westbury wizard whose return to Everton on loan from Spurs revived the Toffees’ season last January.

With the side languishing in 12^th position before the loan danger’s arrival, Pienaar’s four goals and club-best six assists saw David Moyes’ side finish in seventh position – four points clear of neighbours Liverpool – and Moyes himself accepts: “Stevie just fits with Everton. My job is to get Pienaar back, I’ve been working at that for some time now. I know he’d like to be here.”

According to my sources, after an uncertain summer both clubs believe Pienaar will be playing for Everton when they kick-off the new Premier League season against Manchester United – who landed for their South African tour yesterday – at Goodison Park on August 20.

It was Pienaar’s £3m (R36m) cut-price move from Everton to Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham in January 2011 which led to my fall-out with South Africa’s “superagent” Rob Moore.

At the time, I said on SuperSport’s Thursday Night Live with Robert Marawa that it was a poor move. Moore called me from Barcelona and insisted I apologise for that statement but anybody could have told him Harry had enough midfielders on board in North London, with transformed Welsh full-back Gareth Bale having just made Pienaar’s left-of-midfield channel his own.

Now 30, Pienaar said at the time he was going to Spurs for Champions League football. Sadly, Tottenham fell just short of the top four in 2011 and were forced out when Chelsea won the trophy this year. And he made few friends among the notoriously fickle Spurs fans when he tweeted “well done Chelsea” after their rivals’ shock penalty shoot-out win over Bayern Munich that clinched the final European berth.

Pienaar’s contract was coming to an end at Goodison and with compatriot Bongani Khumalo also bound for Spurs at the time, it may have looked an attractive option. Less than two years later, Khumalo finds himself shipped out to Greek outfit PAOK Thessaloniki and Pienaar is “not needed” by new Spurs boss Andre Villas Boas.

The South African pair are not alone in leaving White Hart Lane – England midfielder Jermaine Jenas, French veteran William Gallas, England striker Jermain Defoe and Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes are among a long list of not-so-Hotspurs with “for sale” written across their foreheads.

Croatian Luca Modric, set to be sold to Real Madrid before the transfer window closes, may open up a space in midfield, but with Bale, Rafa van der Vaart, Scott Parker and Aaron Lennon staying put as the new boys Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen were unveiled last week, there is apparently no room for Pienaar despite his form for Everton last season.

The Bafana Bafana captain – who may yet the armband taken from him by new coach Gordon Igesund – was not included in the 25-strong picture of the Spurs squad in their new kit last week.

The Pienaar effect:

Before Pienaar’s return, Everton were 14^th in the Premier League.

After his arrival they were transformed in to the third-best side in the league.

Everton won 43% of their games with Pienaar, 37.5% without him.

Without Pienaar, Everton scored just 24 in 24 games. With him, they scored 26 in 14.

Pienaar played just 14 times for Everton but ended the season with the most assists, six.

In his half-season, Pienaar created 32 chances, third best among Everton players.

He also led the way in passes, pass accuracy and through balls.

For more of Pienaar’s incredible stats:

http://www.eplindex.com/14856/everton-steven-pienaar-vital-dispensable-opta-stats.html

My previous blogs concerning Steve Pienaar, Everton, Spurs and Rob Moore (note his comments):

 http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-moore-is-less-re-appointed-bafana.html

http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/02/curious-tale-of-steven-pienaars-year-at.html

The curious tale of Steven Pienaar's year at Spurs: why Moore isn't always merrier

THE Steven Pienaar story is a curious one, and close to my heart. When confirmation dropped that South Africa’s only current world-class player had gone on loan back to his old stomping ground at Goodison Park, I leapt in the air.

The deal to move “Schilla” from Spurs to Everton for the rest of the season was officially confirmed at 11.47pm South African time, nearly 10pm at the FA’s headquarters in London.

His excited twittering since backs up all that we felt about the lad from Westbury’s troubled time in North London, where he found himself in a Spurs squad with his path to glory blocked by a certain Gareth Bale.

And there he was, as the transfer window slowly shut, watching that Welsh wizard Bale thump home two more goals in a record-breaking season against Wigan. Where was South Africa’s international captain? Where he’s been all season – on the bench.

Apparently before kick-off, boss Harry Redknapp had insisted Pienaar had to be part of the squad, despite frantic negotiations with Everton chairman Bill Kenwright. He said he needed the 29-year-old in case of injury.

But what few people knew when the match kicked off was that Harry wanted Everton’s former Manchester United striker Louis Saha at White Hart Lane. And as a consequence, Kenwright had a little leverage in his bid to get Pienaar back to the club where he was the supporters’ player of the year in 2009.

When QPR’s new boss Mark Hughes made an approach a fortnight ago, Redknapp assured us: “I have no intention of selling Pienaar. Why should I? I wouldn't want to let him go. He is a good player. I don't need to weaken the squad. He could play a part in the run-in."

After a day in court defending himself over tax evasion charges and a welcome 3-0 triumph over Wigan, ‘Arry proved to be less determined as the midnight deadline loomed.

Thank God. A major mistake may just have been rectified. Expect a permanent deal at the end of the season - with little mention of the cut-price R30m Spurs paid for their man.

A year ago, when it became clear Pienaar was being set up for that cut-price move – he refused to sign a new contract despite repeated urging from David Moyes – I said on SuperSport that his agent David Moore was stupid to move him from Goodison, where he had made a name for himself.

I said it was like Paul Stretford demanding a move from Manchester United for Wayne Rooney, which he had done, but had rapidly rethought his strategy.

As an automatic pick at Everton, what was the point of going to Spurs, where Bale had just begun to emerge with that now-legendary Champions League hat-trick at the San Siro? Moore called me on the mobile from Barcelona, screaming at me, telling me I knew nothing.

He said he had nothing to do with Pienaar’s move, that Schilla himself was eager to go, because he wanted Champions League football and a club with more ambition.

When I quoted him, Mooreinsisted I send an apology to Kenwright. I did. I still have the email.

But ultimately, with Pienaar back at Everton after a late-night exchange between Redknapp and Kenwright on Wednesday night, I guess we all know now that Pienaar’s move to Spurs was all wrong.

I’ll say now what I said a year ago: sometimes a player just belongs. He doesn’t need to move in his late 20s. Moore can deny it all he want, but anyone who’s been in football long enough knows the agents are the ones behind the risky, big-money moves late in a career.

Without a move, where does the last big pay-day come from if, like Moore, your players are declining with the speed of Benni McCarthy, who was at West Ham at the time?

It looked okay at first. Pienaar cracked the starting line-up. But after a run of games, injury struck. The close season saw both Pienaar and compatriot Bongani Khumalo come over for the Vodacom Challenge with Spurs. But that was as good as it got. And if you examine www.twitter.com/therealstevenpiyou’ll find Pienaar's been “sick” and “in bed” three times since Christmas this year. He blames flu and tonsilitis as the stress of being unable to break in to Tottenham’s high-flying starting eleven began to tell.

A few brief cameos – including 10 minutes against Everton - are all he’s managed in the Premier League. And a couple of starts in Tottenham’s disastrous Europa League journey.

But the minute confirmation of his return to Everton emerged, his old pal Phil Neville was telling the BBC: “There’s nobody else I’d rather we signed.”
On the Everton FC facebook page, a simple message atop hundreds of happy messagers: "Welcome home Steven Pienaar."

These are Stevie’s tweets since: “Soon up the road to Liverpool. Familiar journey! Looking forward.

“And looking forward to running rings around @fizzer19 (Neville) in training again. “Very thankful that Spurs management allowed me to go on loan and I’m very happy it could be to Everton, a club close to my heart.

“Manager needs to make choices, I understand. But I love playing and just can’t sit so much on the bench. It was killing my spirit.

“Mixed emotions to leave Spurs. Disappointed I couldn’t get in a playing groove on a regular basis and show the fans the real me.

“Happy days. We just beat the clock on Transfer Deadline Day. Holding thumbs.”

Aren’t we all Stevie? South Africa needs you playing again. And the same could be said for compatriot Bongani Khumalo, back at Spurs after his disastrous loan spell at Championship club Reading.

Sometimes agents don’t know best.

Now what happened to QPR wanting Katlego “Killer” Mphela?

See also: http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-moore-is-less-re-appointed-bafana.html

Spurs reject QPR bid for Bafana captain Pienaar... but that's only half the story

SPURS rejected the first of an expected avalanche of bids for Steve Pienaar on Friday when new Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Hughes approached Harry Redknapp for the under-used South African captain.

Pienaar, brought up in the tough Westbury area of Johannesburg, has played just five times for in-form Tottenham this season - but his appearances have been limited to Carling Cup and Europe League outings.

His bargain  £2m move from Everton in January 2011 was engineered by manager Rob Moore after a new contract went unsigned at Goodison Park.

Hughes is believed to have offered around the same price for Pienaar, but will up the bid to  £3m in an attempted to make Pienaar his first signing since taking over from Neil Warnock at Loftus Road.

Pienaar, injured in pre-season, finds himself unable to get beyond Gareth Bale on the left of Harry Redknapp's title-chasing midfield - a minor fact overlooked (but mentioned here) when he snubbed Chelsea for Spurs a year ago.

Pienaar, 29, and agent Moore insisted the move was all about playing Champions League football but Spurs failed to finish in the top four last season and missed out on Europe's premier competition.

Everton are also believed to be interested in ending Pienaar's misery, offering to take him back on loan to the club where he won the fans's player of the season award in 2009. Pienaar is also being watched by Scottish giants Celtic and Spurs' injury-ravaged neighbours Arsenal.

Spurs boss Redknapp is believed to be persuadable on the issue of Pienaar's departure but publicly he said: "I wouldn't want to let him go. He is a good player," Redknapp said. "I brought him on for the last 10 minutes against Everton on Wednesday and he didn't give the ball away. I don't have any need to weaken the squad. I would rather have a good squad for last 18 matches of the season than let one or two go who could play a part in the run-in."

But surely the point is, if Redknapp really didn't want Pienaar to go, how did knowledge of QPR's bid emerge in all the English newspapers simulataneously. Harry, though he denies it, is a wheeler dealer in the market. My belief is he "leaked" news of the bid, along with quotes saying he still wanted Pienaar. That way, he gets to keep Pienaar happy while stoking a bidding war for his talented but largely redundant South African.

Pienaar's Spurs career started promisingly, the South African slotting in to the team after an injury to Gareth Bale. He started the Londoners' Champions League second-round game away to Milan but a series of injuries meant that he saw little first-team action. He suffered a concussion after clashing heads with a team-mate, Bongani Khumalo, during training in February and he picked up a groin problem towards the end of the season.

Pienaar was confident that the groin problem had gone away, but it flared up again in pre-season and he had to undergo surgery, ruling him out until mid-September. Another two setbacks kept him out until November.

My experience tells me the Hughes bid was leaked to the British press in an attempt to "make a market" for Pienaar, with bigger and better bids coming soon. But Pienaar should hold firm. The transfer window still has a fortnight to run. And Bale could yet suffer an injury which could tranform Schillo's Spurs fortunes.

Benni McCarthy: The bee's knees or busted knees? That's the question that has to be asked

In so many ways, Benni McCarthy's much-hyped move to Orlando Pirates is exactly what the South African Premier League has been crying out for.

An experienced, Champions League-winning South African professional arriving back in Soweto's District 18 eager to end his career with a bang. Bafana Bafana's all-time top-scorer joining South Africa's treble-winning Champions promising to become the first man to win Champions League medals in both Europe and Africa.

On Robert Marawa's excellent Discovery Sports Centre (you can't miss it from 6-7.30pm every day on www.metrofm.co.za) Benni told us on Tuesday night: "I'm not here for a holiday, I'm here to give something back. This is not my retirement plan, I want to get out there and score goals for Pirates."

In my story which ran in the Cape Argus two Saturdays before, I expressed exactly those sentiments. Hoping the new, svelte Benni would return to South Africa for one final goal rush. You can read it here: http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011/07/mccarthy-in-no-rush-to-secure-new-club.html.

Since then, Benni has left Ajax Cape Town where he was "getting back to full fitness" and, barely 24 hours after being seen with Pirates' supremo Irvin Khosa at last Saturday's Carling Black Label Cup final, he signed his lucrative two-year deal and inherited the No17 Buccaneers shirt. Cue wild celebrations nationwide, except for jealous fans of Kaizer Chiefs, Ajax and Sundowns.

So everyone’s happy. But the worrying aspect is this: Benni gushed similar sentiments when he left Blackburn Rovers to join West Ham United for £2.5m (R26m) in January 2010. He called it his “dream move” and promised he had plenty of goals left in him at 32. But when push came to shove, he went down injured after a single game (a brief appearance in the defeat against Burnley), put on weight, was fined twice and missed the World Cup in his home country, dropped by Bafana Bafana despite claiming to be fit.

While his agent Rob Moore insisted he was "back to his fighting weight" after the World Cup, West Ham then left McCarthy out of their playing squad at the start of the year and despite a goal-scoring trial at Queens Park Rangers, the Hammers offered the 33-year-old £1.5m (R16m) to cut short his contract at Upton Park earlier this year.

The British newspapers had a field day, describing McCarthy as “a flop” and “a fat misfit”. And now I've got West Ham fans blowing bubbles over the concept of McCarthy being the next big thing in the South African Premier League. Some of them even tuned in to his live interview online at MetroFM on Tuesday night. They were flabbergasted to hear the man who failed to score a goal for relegated West Ham promising the world, telling us: "My love for football is back, I can't wait to start playing."

But he may have to wait. After Wednesday's open session with his new team-mates, Pirates tell us McCarthy is not fit. That he won't play in the opening MTN8 clash against Santos on Sunday at Orlando's Super Stadium. He needs "more tests".

Officially, his new boss Julio Leal said: “It was a good deal for Benni to come back home, to play under the eye of his critics. He’s a player who’s got international experience. He played at the highest level and scored goals there. He needs to work on certain aspects to be fully fit. We will do tests and take a decision on whether he plays on Saturday.”

I put up the picture above on Facebook and Twitter and took some fierce stick for suggesting the blood tests he was being subjected to on Wednesday should have been taken before a 33-year-old who couldn't get fit at West Ham for a year was signed on a two-year contract.

I’ve been accused of having something personal against McCarthy. But, with player, club and fans in mind, I'm right. Nobody wants Benni to succeed more than me. Both my son and I wear Orlando Pirates jerseys with pride, happy to make the Buccaneers' skull-and-crossbones sign to friend and foe alike.

But has Benni had the full medical? Has he got another two well-paid years at the pinnacle of African football in him? I certainly hope so. Google “Benni McCarthy” and “medical” on google news and there are no results. The club won’t comment.

Why am I so concerned? Because I can't help going back to that moment in early February 2010, when a man called Kevin Keen, the former West Ham first team coach now at Liverpool, wandered over to me while our boys were playing football together in Buckinghamshire.

I asked Kevin, who had just attended my World Cup book launch in our village bookstore at Chalfont St Peter, if Benni would be fit to spearhead South Africa's World Cup challenge on home soil.

He grimaced and said: "Benni's not looking good. He has a knee problem. South Africa may be in trouble if they think he's going to be their major World Cup striker."

I wrote http://www.iol.co.za/sport/injury-set-to-rule-benni-out-of-world-cup-1.613865 on February 26 last year, nearly four months before the World Cup kick-off. His agent Rob Moore rubbished my story as "lazy journalism" and “pure speculation”. It wasn't. It was fact, as we found out on June 1, when Benni was axed by Carlos Alberto Parreira and I wrote this: http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2010/06/benni-mccarthys-world-cup-dream-is-over.html.

Now decide for yourself. Read those stories. Read the more recent blogs on McCarthy. Have a look at the picture above. Am I simply having a go at the great Benni McCarthy, South Africa's all-time top scorer? Or am I hoping he had a full medical before he put pen to paper at Pirates and that he will, gloriously, go on to lift an African Champions League medal to go to the one he won with Jose Mourinho's Porto in 2004?

Truth is, I wish Benni McCarthy all the best. He talks a great game, he has scored great goals, he will sell tickets all over South Africa this season. But that will only happen if the knee, originally injured while playing for Blackburn in 2007, stands up to the strain, his weight stays down... and he really is here to do the business, not enhance his retirement fund at the expense, ultimately, of the Buccaneers fans who pay to watch him and buy his replica shirt.

There is no hidden agenda. I just want Benni to go out with a bang. Not a whimper.

McCarthy in no rush to secure a new club as Musona's German move nears completion

Benni McCarthy appears to be in no rush to secure a new club as he flew to Cape Town “to get keep fit and get his touch of the ball back” this week.

The 33-year-old, who has scored more international goals than any other South African, arrives in the Mother City in no apparent hurry to refute the “fat and lazy” slurs which followed him out of the exit door after 18 goalless months at West Ham United in April.

Even his agent, Rob Moore, appears relaxed about McCarthy’s laid-back attitude. He told my colleague Ed Aarons last week: “Benni has just got back from Disneyland.”

Aarons, now working for Sky Sports after his World Cup stint with the Citizen in Johannesburg, spoke to Moore again yesterday when news of Benni’s jaunt to Cape Town broke on Twitter. This time Moore said: “The bottom line is Benni is planning on coming to Cape Town for a holiday and he asked me to ask Ajax if they mind if he trains there to keep fit.

“We haven’t planned anything yet because he has been on holiday for the start of June so it just a matter of starting things up and seeing what direction we move.

“He’s on holiday visiting friends and you can’t spend 24/7 doing that so he wants to have somewhere he can go and get his touch of the ball back and that type of thing.

“Obviously certain clubs have certain targets in mind at this point in time so maybe a decision will only be taken in August. It’s still early days.”

Moore claims interest from clubs in America’s MLS and the lucrative middle-east, where Qatar and the United Arab Emirates offer big money to professionals looking for a retirement package.

McCarthy, so sharp during his days with Jose Mourinho’s Porto and Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers in his heyday, will train next week with new Ajax coach Maarten Stekelenburg to get himself back in some sort of shape, but both Moore and McCarthy’s twittering brother Jerome reckons no discussions have been held about a permanent move.

Ajax Cape Town CEO George Comitis, who saw his side go so close to the South African Premier League title last season, said simply: “No, he is not joining us. He is just coming to train with us while he is in Cape Town.”

McCarthy’s brother Jerome, who also works as a player agent, twittered: “My brother is coming to Cape Town tomorrow, but I do not know anything about him signing for Ajax.

“Maybe somebody found out he was travelling to Cape Town and made up their own conclusions, but he has not said anything to me about it.”

Jerome also mentioned Benni had elicited interest from Qatar and the MLS, but concluded: “That is all I know.”

As I told SABC’s excellent football commentator Sizwe Mabena on MetroFM’s Discovery Sport Centre on Thursday night, McCarthy can do better than that. Long derided by Bafana Bafana fans for his on-off attitude towards the national squad, this is when McCarthy should consider giving something back to the nation of his birth, confirming his reputation as South Africa’s finest modern striker.

Mr Moore rarely appreciates my views, but McCarthy is being presented with the perfect opportunity to end his career with a bang in the city of his birth. If he trains hard and impresses Stekelenburg, then Ajax are bound to make a bid for a man cast out of West Ham four months ago after twice being fined for being overweight.

Failing Ajax, he could even consider a move to Kaiser Chiefs if Knowledge Musona goes to the Bundesliga, as appears increasingly likely.

Chiefs general manager Bobby Motaung told the Sowetan: “It was a successful trip for the player who flew to Germany on Sunday and joined the team for the pre-season in Austria.”

Motaung confirmed TSG Hoffenheim have offered Chiefs R15m for Musona and that Amazulu’s Lehlohonolo Majoro is being lined up along with FC Twente’s unsettled Bernard Parker to replace Musona. But surely a fit, hungry McCarthy could do the job?

Moore admits: “One doesn’t rule anything out at this stage because we haven’t sat down so we will just have to see what happens.

“I’m sure there are a few clubs that would like to sign him. I think he needs to get all his holidays and visits completed and then at that point he can see what the right choice should be.”

Exactly.

Come in No40... Steven Pienaar Confirms His Move To Spurs Personally. You read it here first, two months ago

Steven Pienaar is all set to play for new club Tottenham against Newcastle on Saturday – and will wear No40 on the famous white jersey at St James’s Park

Twittering frantically, the wizard from Westbury near Johannesburg said: “To end speculation I am going to Spurs. I've had brilliant years at Everton and it will always be a special place in my heart.

“And I can also confirm I will be jersey No40.”

A relieved Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, who has pursued Pienaar ruthlessly through his unsettled months at Everton, admits he nearly lost out to Chelsea at the final hurdle when the January transfer window opened.

Both clubs were eager to swoop despite the fact that Pienaar would have been available on a free transfer at the end of the season. Pienaar and astute agent Rob Moore is believed to have agreed a deal of around £70,000-a-week with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

With the 28-year-old only a medical away from signing after Spurs upped their bid to match Chelsea’s £3m price tag, Redknapp told Sky Sports News: "I think we've done it - I think it's done. I think everything's agreed and he's going to join us, we're pretty sure.

"He's a good signing. He's a good footballer, I think he'll fit into the way we play great and I've always liked him.

"He has a good attitude, a good trainer, a good player. I know David Moyes loved him at Everton and it was unfortunate he decided not to stay

"But in the end I think it is a fair deal - Everton got a decent fee in the end for him, Chelsea were in for him, and I think he spoke to Chelsea and he came and spoke to us and he's decided to come here."

Redknapp added: "He should be available to face Newcastle - hopefully we will get him sorted in time and if everything goes through, it shouldn't be a problem. I think he'll be in the squad for Saturday."

If all goes well today, Pienaar will join David Beckham and recently signed-compatriot Bongani Khumalo, 23, at Tottenham’s Chigwell training facility.