Coach Benni’s touch raises hope of Harambee Stars rising again

He is the all-time South African goal scorer with 31 goals.

But in his wildest imagination, McCarthy -- a former West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers striker, and Manchester United assistant coach-- would never have expected to receive a state commendation from a foreign country.

Well, on December 12, the 48-year-old Harambee Stars coach was conferred with the Head of State’s Commendation (HSC – Civilian Division) by President William Ruto at State House in Nairobi after the Jamhuri Day celebrations held at Nyayo National Stadium.

Read: How Benni McCarthy is turning Harambee Stars into title contenders

That recognition was no doubt influenced by Harambee Stars’ impressive run at the delayed 2024 African Nations Championships (Chan) under McCarthy.

Kenya hosted the month-long, 19-nation biennial tournament with Uganda and Tanzania from August 2 to 30 this year.

Competing in Chan for the first time in history, and in arguably the “Group of Death”, which also had giants Morocco, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Angola, and Zambia, many Kenyans wrote off Harambee Stars even before the first ball was kicked.

The skepticism from Kenyans also stemmed from Harambee Stars’ regular poor performance on the international scene.

But alas, against all odds, Kenya topped the group.

Playing in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans at the Moi International Sports Centre (MISC), Kasarani, the home boys stunned both Morocco and DRC 1-0 , and bravely battled to a 1-1 draw against Angola.

Remarkably, Stars played over an hour with 10 men against both Morocco and Angola following red cards given to midfielders Marvine Nabwire and Chrispine Erambo, respectively.

Kenya concluded their group campaign with a 1-0 win over Zambia, before losing 4-3 to Madagascar in the post-match penalties after they tied 1-1 in 120 minutes of open play.

McCarthy capitalised on his experience to mastermind Kenya’s strong showing in the tournament.

He was unveiled as Harambee Stars coach on March 3 on a two-year contract.

After Harambee Stars held on to a slim 1-0 win over Morocco despite playing more than an hour with 10 men, McCarthy explained that the defensive display by his side to tactics he learned at Porto under the renowned Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho.

“I am not sure if you remember that I played under a certain coach, Jose Mourinho. He was a master of that, so as a player, playing in a team playing with 10 men was hell, but we used to manage it perfectly, like it was our everyday thing,” said the South African.

Read: Benni McCarthy ready to write history with Harambee Stars 

McCarthy also showed that he was not afraid to take risks. In all of Kenya’s group matches, the former Cape Town City FC and AmaZulu FC coach made a string of changes to his starting lineup.

One notable example was in Kenya’s high-stakes match against favourites Morocco, where he rested several of his key players, including captain Abud Omar, Odhaimbo, Omija, Daniel Sakari, Alpha Onyango and Nabwire. Some of their replacements were defenders Lewis Bandi, Siraj Mohamed and Michael Kibwage and striker Ogam.

Kenya tactfully frustrated Morocco the entire match, with Ogam scoring the winning goal. McCarthy then attributed his side’s impressive run in the tournament to the strong bond that they had created among themselves. He also credited the huge fan support to the team’s outstanding performance.

“I don’t think that if we didn’t have the performance from the fans the way they did, we would have survived. Not with 11 players, not with 10 players,” said the coach after their win over Morocco. But another key ingredient in Kenya’s strong performance, as admitted by several Harambee Stars’ players, was the monetary reward from President William Ruto.

President Ruto pledged Sh1 million for every Harambee Stars victory and Sh500,000 for every draw, which he promptly paid.

Read: Harambee Stars' Benni McCarthy bags Coach of the Month Award

Ahead of Kenya’s last group match against Zambia, the Head of State raised the stakes by promising each member of the team Sh2.5 million if they won. Each member of the squad ended up pocketing Sh5 million courtesy of President Ruto.

However, McCarthy has in the recent past come under criticism over Harambee Stars’ weak performance after their Chan heroics.

Kenya lost 3-1 to Gambia in September in a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier before thumping lowly-ranked Seychelles 5-0.

Harambee Stars bounced back with a 1-0 victory against Burundi before losing 3-0 to reigning African champions Cote d’Ivoire.

Last month, Kenya fell 1-0 to Equatorial Guinea, and 8-0 to Senegal in international friendly matches in Turkey.

The loss to Senegal was the second-worst Harambee Stars had suffered in history.

Since 2024 Chan, McCarthy has handed playing opportunities to several new players as he seeks to build a formidable side for the 2027 Afcon, which Kenya will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.

Real Sociedad’s Job Ochieng, Gor Mahia’s Bryton Onyona, Vincent Harper (Walsall, England), Adam Wilson (The New Saints, England) and Kevin Otiende (Nairobi United) are some of the new faces who have been allowed to showcase their potential.

With Harambee Stars having a relatively light schedule in 2026, having failed to qualify for both the 2025 Afcon in Morocco and the 2026 World Cup, McCarthy will shift his focus to the 2027 Afcon.

The Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup could be held next year, presenting McCarthy with a chance to further build for the African finals.

Follow our WhatsApp channel for breaking news updates and more stories like this.

[email protected]