Benni McCarthy has christened himself a Zulu warrior with Makhathini replacing McCarthy as his surname.
It's an apt acknowledgement by SA's all-time leading scorer of the achievement he has had, leading AmaZulu FC to becoming the second club from KwaZulu-Natal to qualify for the Caf Champions League.
The now defunct Manning Rangers, the inaugural winners of the Premier Soccer League title, finished as runners-up in Group B in 1998 - the Gordon Igesund-coached team missing by three points to make it to the final.
Now, 24 years later, McCarthy, who has led the Durban club to a historic second-spot finish in the DStv Premiership, has qualified Usuthu for Africa's prestigious competition which has only had the likes of league champions Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United and Kaizer Chiefs as clubs regularly representing SA.
"I think it's great for the club. It's an amazing achievement and, ja, we must embrace this opportunity because it's not going to come around every year," said McCarthy, who is completing his first year of the three-year contract he signed with AmaZulu.
"It's just nice that all our hard work has paid off. I'm super excited and happy for the club. I can't wait for the players to test themselves against the best in the continent."
McCarthy also spoke about the possibility of their celebrations being dampened in case Chiefs, who are in the semifinal of the Champions League - despite them struggling the whole season on the domestic front - go all the way and win it.
According to the Caf rules, only two clubs from the countries that are top-seeded can qualify. If Chiefs win the competition they will then represent SA as defending champions with Sundowns, unless Caf can bend its rules, which at the moment have no clarity on this.
"There's every possibility," said McCarthy of Chiefs, who face Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca. If they win this semifinal, they will play Al Ahly of Egypt or Esperance of Tunisia in the final. "With football you never know. It's played on the field and not on paper," said McCarthy.
"I mean you've got Al Ahly, Wydad and Esperance, so on paper they may seem superior and good, but Chiefs have every chance of maybe surprising people and getting in the final. And you know when you're in the final it can go any way. Chiefs have got as much a right to win that final."
McCarthy joined AmaZulu, who are normally associated with relegation in the Premiership, in December when they were languishing in 13th place.
The club's new owner, Sandile Zungu, had big ambitions of seeing the club finishing regularly in the Premiership's top four and going for McCarthy's signature was part of ensuring that they achieved that.
The club nearly lost McCarthy to Bafana Bafana about a month ago when the South African Football Association came knocking for his signature after his sterling run in the league.
That run included 16 matches unbeaten, of which 10 were victories that made McCarthy pronounce, even before securing the second spot, that their rivals, who included Pirates and Lamontville Golden Arrows, must just forget about it.
There were worries, though, in the Usuthu camp when their unbeaten run, which was ended at home by Baroka FC in their 26th match of the season, was followed by a 1-0 defeat by Pirates.
McCarthy, however, told the Sunday Times he never doubted his team, hence his pronouncement before actually playing the last two matches, that the second spot was theirs.
"No, we were on a 16-match unbeaten run and we knew losing is part of the game," said McCarthy.
"We knew we were going to slip or teams were going to work extremely hard to beat us. We knew we were never going to go unbeaten or unchallenged the whole season.
"But we never panicked because we had lost against Baroka and Pirates. We always knew we had the ability to bounce back because, ja, we're in lion mode with a strong mentality. So we knew it was only a matter of time and the sooner the better. Swallows was the targeted game where we said we are going to win and we did that."
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— In Numbers
Utility rightwinger Sibusiso Mabiliso will leave Usuthu for Chiefs at the end of the season and replacing him will be part of Usuthu's plans to strengthen the team for the Champions League next season.
"Of course it's never nice to lose some of your top players to other teams. We, as the club, can't afford to miss out on strengthening the team. As good as the team has been I think adding a few more faces and more quality to the team can only be a plus for the club going forward," said the 43-year-old who is the only SA player to win the Uefa Champions League (with Porto in 2004).
Usuthu boss Zungu told the Sunday Times he was elated to see McCarthy taking the club into uncharted waters in only his first season with the club.
AmaZulu's best finish in the past 25 years of PSL football was seventh.
Though the club won the league title in 1972, they never got to participate in a Caf competition because SA was still isolated from international football due to apartheid.
For his efforts, McCarthy is the nominee for PSL coach of the season alongside the Sundowns duo of Manqoba Mngqithi and Rulani Mokwena and Arrows coach Mandla Ncikazi. Don't be surprised if the Zulu warrior, Makhathini, wins it.
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