McCarthy brings Uefa Champions League magic to SuperSport’s match centre

One of South Africa’s most decorated footballers-turned-coach, Benni McCarthy, graces SuperSport studios as a guest analyst for the Uefa Champions League.

South African football legend Benni McCarthy will grace SuperSport studios as a guest analyst for the Uefa Champions League Matchday 2 starting Tuesday 1 October and Wednesday 2 October 2024.

McCarthy recently concluded an assistant coaching stint at Premier League giants and three-time European Cup winners, Manchester United, where he had a major impact under manager Erik Ten Hag.

Now, McCarthy will join a panel of experts during SuperSport’s Uefa Champions League Match Centre this week to dissect all the action taking place in Europe’s biggest club competition, which now boasts a wholly new format that has a lot more matches and many more big-game clashes.

McCarthy will be alongside his fellow former international stars during SuperSport’s hour-long build-up such as Shaun Bartlett, Bongani Khumalo and Kaylin Swart. South African presenter Julia Stuart will be pitch side for the massive clash between Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain, with Lwazi Ziqubu anchoring in the studio during Match Centre.

Benni will also feature in his own special SuperSport Unplugged episode, which will be available on SuperSport’s YouTube channel.

“We can’t begin to describe how thrilled we are to bring back football superstar Benni McCarthy to SuperSport’s screens for our viewers,” said SuperSport CEO Rendani Ramovha.

“Benni brings insights and knowledge of the game like nobody else on the globe, having spent 14 years playing in Europe, where he won the Champions League among many other high honours. He also has a deep connection to his South African roots, having returned to play for Orlando Pirates, winning them trophies, and also coaching the Citizens and AmaZulu.

“As a champion, Benni personifies our mission to connect people to their passion for sport because we know how passionate he is about the game and he will provide invaluable inputs during his guest appearances on Your World of Champions.”

The former Bafana Bafana striker remains the only South African ever to lift the Uefa Champions League when he contributed to Porto’s success in the 2003/04 season, when the Portuguese side defeated Monaco in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

The hero from Hanover Park, Cape Town, also boasted highly successful playing spells at Dutch giants Ajax and African giants Orlando Pirates, whom he helped to a treble in 2012.

After his playing career ended, McCarthy swiftly completed his Uefa Pro License during the time he coached Cape Town City. He went on to manage AmaZulu, who he guided to their best-ever Premier Soccer League era finish of second place, qualifying Usuthu for the CAF Champions League for the first time in their history.

SuperSport’s innovative SuperScreen on DStv channel 199 will again showcase 9 live matches during Matchday 2, with 7 of them kicking off simultaneously at 21:00

Catch all Uefa Champions League matches live on Your World of Champions, SuperSport.

Tuesday 1 October 2024 (SA/RoA)

18:00 - Uefa Champions League Match Centre (DStv 199)

18:45 - VfB Stuttgart v Sparta Praha (SS PSL/SS Premier League Africa & SS Premier League Nigeria)

18:45 - Salzburg v Brest (SS Premier League/SS Football Plus Africa & SS Football Plus Nigeria)

21:00 - Inter Milan v Crvena Zvezda (SS Football/SS Variety 2 Africa)

21:00 - PSV Eindhoven v Sporting CP (SS LaLiga/SS Football Africa)

21:00 - Barcelona v Young Boys (SS Variety 3/SS LaLiga Africa & SS LaLiga Nigeria)

21:00 - Borussia Dortmund v Celtic (SS Variety 2/SS Variety 3 Africa)

21:00 - Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain (SS Premier League/SS Football Plus Africa & SS Football Plus Nigeria)

21:00 - Slovan Bratislava v Manchester City (SS PSL/SS Premier League Africa & SS Premier League Nigeria)

21:00 - Bayer Leverkusen v AC Milan (SS Variety 1/SS Variety 1 Africa)