Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy believes that his former manager Jose Mourinho deserves a medal of honour for his achievements at Manchester United, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.

The Citizens recently claimed back-to-back wins in the Absa Premiership after securing a 3-1 victory over newly promoted side Black Leopards at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday.

The victory saw City move up to eighth place in the league standings with 13 points from 10 games, while Leopards sit in 144th place with nine points.

The City mentor hails Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola as a ‘genius’, but insists that he ‘stays away’ from his ‘adventurous and risky’ tactics.

‘Everybody talks about Pep Guardiola but not everybody can be him,’ McCarthy said.

‘That is too advanced for most people [players]. To do what he does, you have to manage Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, to have those types of players.

‘With the crop of players most coaches have, you can’t be that adventurous and that risky with offensive football at that level.

‘I read about it and I love his success and how he is changing the modern game, but to help me in my coaching [at Cape Town City], nah, I stay away from those kinds of tactics.’

McCarthy, who recently received his Uefa Pro License, the highest qualification any coach can attain in football, revealed that Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri and Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics are interesting, but admits the only manager he follows is Mourinho, who he believes has been doing an exceptional job at United.

‘I am a simple guy. Sarri, I like what he does, he’s very interesting. Pochettino, I like also. But everyone knows the methods I follow … I don’t have to play exactly that style, but for what he has done for me, Mourinho is the one.

‘I read a little bit of this, I look at that, but the ultimate, when I need to put things in perspective and I say this is me and what I want to follow, then I go and read anything Mourinho says and does.

‘In my opinion, for what he does for me [and my coaching], Mourinho is the best manager in the world.

‘People might call it boring, but when you have an ordinary [Manchester United] team like that, to finish second in the Premier League … you deserve a medal of honour.’

Following the conclusion of the international break, Cape Town City will travel to the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium when they take on Polokwane in the Absa Premiership on 27 November.