I helped Mourinho beat Ferguson's Man Utd - now I'm a coach at Old Trafford
Some 20 years on from Manchester United's infamous defeat at Porto in the Champions League, one key figure is part of the furniture at Old Trafford.
It's not Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes, the long-serving stars who remained on the playing staff for the best part of 20 years between them after the painful reverse. Nor is it Jose Mourinho, the Porto manager that year and United's boss 12 years later, with the Portuguese getting his marching orders in December 2018.
Instead, it's the man who scored both goals in Porto's first-leg win at the end of February 2004, giving them an advantage which they preserved thanks to Costinha's late, late Old Trafford effort. Benni McCarthy was Porto's hero that day, and now he's the man tasked with helping the likes of Rasmus Hojlund become their best selves.
South Africa striker McCarthy never made it to United as a player, with his only experience of English football coming with Blackburn and, briefly, West Ham. In 2022, though, he was recruited by Erik ten Hag as the Dutchman set about making his mark in the Premier League.
McCarthy was Porto's top scorer in the 2003-04 season, scoring 20 league goals - including his team's first and last of the campaign. He took a bit longer to get going in Europe, but the goals - when they arrived - were big ones.
It's easy to forget how slowly Porto started in Europe, taking just a point from their first two group games. Home and away wins against Marseille helped turn things around, but they still needed a McCarthy double against Partizan Belgrade to ensure their progress.
Mourinho's team went through as runners-up behind Real Madrid, setting up a meeting with a United side who conceded just twice across their six group games under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Read on m.allfootballapp.com
