Benni McCarthy and Kaitano Tembo will clash in the MTN8 final on Saturday night. The duo only recently graduated to become head coaches last season.
While Tembo has been at SuperSport United for almost two decades both as a player and part of the technical team, he only got the opportunity to train the first team on a permanant basis at the beginning of the season.
Benni is in his second season in charge of the Citizens, and while he reached last year's edition of the MTN8 final, he is still relatively knew in the coaching circles.
The two former PSL players made a name for themselves during their playing days, and won many titles before becoming coaches.
With the MTN8 trophy and a whopping R8 million prize money at stake, Goal takes a look at who had more titles between McCarthy and Tembo during their playing days.
MTN/Goal
Tembo retired in 2006 while McCarthy called it quits in 2013 following the expiry of his contract with Orlando Pirates.
This was soon after his return from Europe where he played for Ajax Amsterdam, FC Porto and Blackburn Rovers among others.
BENNI MCCARTHY
Eredivisie: 1997–98, KNVB Cup: 1997–98, 1998–9 (Ajax Amsterdam), UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000 (Celta Vigo), Primeira Liga: 2003–04, 2005–06, Taça de Portugal: 2005–06, Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003, 2004 UEFA Champions League: 2003–04 Intercontinental Cup: 2004 (FC Porto, Premier Soccer League: 2011–12, MTN 8: 2011–12, Telkom Knockout: 2011–12, Carling Black Label Cup: 2012 (Orlando Pirates).
KAITANO TEMBO
Zimbabwean Premier Soccer League: 1994, 1995,1997, Mbada Diamonds Cup: 1996, Nedbank: 1999, 2005, MTN8: 2005.
Backpagepix
From the stats above, it is quite clear that McCarthy has won more titles than Tembo even though the latter is older than the South Africa international.
Now, who will win the first major piece of silverware as head coach between Tembo and McCarthy? Only time will tell.
