Newly-appointed Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy says he’d like to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United mentor Jose Mourinho in terms of winning trophies, but insists that he is his own man.

The Bafana Bafana legend was handed his first coaching stint after the Citizens confirmed that he has signed a three-year contract, following the departure of former coach Eric Tinkler to SuperSport United.

At his unveiling, the former Porto forward spoke about some of the better coaches he came across during his playing days, highlighting their different styles in management.

‘I had some fantastic coaches,’ he told reporters.

‘My first coach that I encountered when I went to Ajax was Dutch legend Co Adriaanse, he passed and Louis Van Gaal was there, I had a brief time with Van Gaal and he was firm and direct, players were scared of him, but they respected him, that’s why he was successful.

‘When he went on, Danish coach, Morten Olsen came and I couldn’t have asked for a better guy to have as a young player, because he took the time to nurture you, give you the proper education to be successful. So I picked up some things, what he did was really good and how he worked with younger players,’ he added.

McCarthy formed part of the 2004 Champions League winning Porto side and fondly remembers playing under Mourinho, saying that the former Chelsea mentor is a ‘born winner.’

‘But, the best time for me was with (Jose) Mourinho, because he was very efficient, he was effective and he was successful.

‘He was a born winner, but he was a players’ manager, he took the time to know players and put his hand around players when they weren’t doing good.

‘I don’t want to be like Mourinho, the only thing that I will take from him is his winning, he is a trophy man. I want to add that to my game, I want to win trophies, I want to achieve things, but I want to be my own personality, my own coach,’ he concluded.

Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix

— This story originally appeared on SoccerClub.co.za