BENNI McCARTHY
Born: 12 November 1977, Cape Town, South Africa
Former clubs: Seven Stars, AFC Ajax, Celta de Vigo, FC Porto (loan), FC Porto, Blackburn Rovers
The vastly-experienced South Africa striker joined West Ham United from Blackburn Rovers in February 2010 eager to showcase the quality that has seen him score more than 30 goals for his country.
Benni McCarthy has enjoyed a storied career at both club and country, winning the UEFA Champions League with FC Porto in 2004.
In English football, the forward enjoyed a productive three-and-a-half years at Blackburn Rovers, scoring more than 50 goals.
2010/11
Scored his first West Ham United goal in the 2-0 pre-season friendly victory over VfL Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany on 17 July 2010.
2009/10
Signed for West Ham United on a two and a half year contract on 1 February 2010…Made his debut in 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Burnley on 6 February 2010…Returned from groin injury to feature in four subsequent league matches.
International career
Made his full international debut in a friendly against the Netherlands on 4 June 1997…Scored seven goals at the 1998 CAF Africa Cup of Nations, including four in 13 minutes against Namibia and two in 2-1 semi-final victory over DR Congo…Scored South Africa's first goal at the FIFA World Cup finals with equaliser in 1-1 group-stage draw with Denmark in Toulouse on 18 June 1998…Played in all three group matches at 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea, but failed to score…Retired from international football in 2002 but returned to action in 2004…Broke Shaun Bartlett's all-time record for international goals for South Africa when he scored his 30th in 3-0 friendly win over Paraguay in Atteridgeville in March 2008…Omitted from South Africa's final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Before West Ham United
Began his career with Seven Stars FC in his native Cape Town...Moved to Cape Town Ajax before being snapped up by Dutch giants AFC Ajax in 1997 at the age of 19…Scored nine goals in 16 league appearances to win the Eredivisie title in 1997/98…Netted eleven goals in 19 league appearances in 1998/99…Joined Spanish club Celta de Vigo in August 1999 but scored just eight league goals in 50 appearances over the following two seasons…Loaned to Jose Mourinho's FC Porto for 2001/02 season and responded by scoring 12 goals in eleven league matches…Returned to Celta de Vigo for 2002/03 campaign but scored just two league goals…Made move to FC Porto permanent in summer of 2003, winning the Portuguese League, Portuguese Supercup and UEFA Champions League in 2003/04…Scored 23 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions in 2003/04…Won Intercontinental Cup and Portuguese Supercup in 2004/05, scoring 14 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions…Won Portuguese League and Cup double in 2005/06…Signed for Blackburn Rovers for £2.5m in July 2006…Finished as second-highest scorer in the Premier League in 2006/07 with 18 goals…Netted 52 goals in 140 matches in all competitions for Blackburn Rovers.
Any other business
Joined AFC Ajax Mario Melchiot and Dean Gorre in a rap group called BMD, releasing a track called 'Midas Touch'…Supported the Gun-Free World Cup campaign run by International Action Network on Small Arms ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.