Bernard Mwalala is, arguably, the sole Kenyan tactician who has faced off with Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy on the touchline and experienced his style of play firsthand.While scores of coaches have either lost a competitive or a friendly match to a team coached by McCarthy, Mwalala remains in the list of those who have never experienced the pain of defeat engineered by the revered South African legend. Standing on the Bandari touchline in July 2019, Mwalala led the Dockers to a register a memorable 2-2 draw against Cape Town City FC, who were under McCarthy, in a friendly match played in South Africa. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8763445##Bandari had toured South Africa as part of a reward by the parent company and sponsor, the Kenya Ports Authority, for clinching the Shield Cup, as well as building up for their return to the CAF Confederation Cup. Besides holding Cape Town to the draw, in which Benjamin Mosha and William Wadri were on target, Bandari ended their South African tour with a 1-0 win over S.N Rangers. While Kenyans are waiting with bated breath to witness McCarthy’s methods and style of play when Stars face The Gambia and Gabon later in the month, Mwalala has a clue. The former KCB FC coach says Kenyans should expect to see Stars play an attack-minded brand of football under McCarthy, contrary to the style the team embraced under immediate former coach Engin Firat. “I remember when I came up against him during my time at Bandari, he set up his team to play attacking football throughout. We have also seen him stick to the philosophy in the teams he has managed in South Africa. His players are always comfortable with the ball and play attractive football,” offered Mwalala. Since his unveiling on Monday at a Nairobi hotel, McCarthy has been largely received positively by the Kenyan football fraternity. What will Harambee Stars’ philosophy be under McCarthy?Coaches, players, fans and other relevant stakeholders have backed the former Manchester United forwards’ coach to help restore the team’s lost glory.Mwalala has also thrown his weight behind the former FC Porto man, even as he hopes that he will deliver richly.”He is the right man for the job. We have secured the services of a man who has played the game and coached at the top level. I have no doubt in my mind that he will improve our fortunes,” added the former Nzoia Sugar coach.
