Benni McCarthy on How He Turned Marcus Rashford’s Shortcomings into Best-Ever Scoring Season – ‘It Was Very Simple’

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy has explained how he helped unlock England forward Marcus Rashford’s potential after his struggles in front of goal at Manchester United.

McCarthy worked with Rashford for two years at the English Premier League club, when he served as the club’s attacking coach, between July 2022 and June 2024.

Among those he worked closely with was Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho as well as legendary Cristiano Ronaldo but it is the now Barcelona forward who benefited the most from the tutelage of the former FC Porto, Ajax Amsterdam and Blackburn Rovers striker.

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Having managed just five goals in 32 matches in the 2021-22 season, Rashford would score a career-high 30 goals in 43 matches and also weighed in with 12 assists in the 2022-23 season, when he was working with McCarthy.

The striker had never hit those numbers in his career and has not reached those heights again. McCarthy credits his simple but very effective approach of giving the player confidence and freedom for his impressive goal tally that season.

“Marcus Rashford, one of the best and biggest talents that I have seen in the game,” McCarthy told Creamer Media TV.

“He always had shortcomings and then it was just very simple, let the guy believe that he can be whoever he wants to be and give him the freedom. Working with him, talking with him everyday and gaining his respect and made him to have one of his best seasons ever.

“As a Man United player, the figures that he hit working with me that year was more than he has ever had working under any other manager because I believed that much in myself and I had to teach them something.”

That season, Rashford played with a swagger and was so good in the air as he was on the ground, taking on his markers with ease when he played on the wing, while exploiting space when deployed upfront.

He also had great awareness on set-pieces as he won numerous headers, improving his overall game, and McCarthy earned plaudits for his transformative job on the England international

Since that season, however, Rashford managed eight goals and six assists in 2023-24, 11 and nine assists last season, half of which he spent on loan at Aston Villa, and he has so far scored 10 goals and added 13 assists in 34 games for Barcelona, where he is on a season-long loan from United.