How Jose Mourinho influenced McCarthy in defensive artistry

Kenya head coach Benni McCarthy might be tempted to schedule the next training session with only 10 starting players on the pitch.

This won't be by choice, but because the team seems to have mastered the art of surviving and winning games with only 10 men.

Kenya is unbeaten so far in the African Nations Championship (Chan 2024), but has had to finish two of its last three games with one man less.

Against Angola, it was Marvin Nabwire who took one for the team. This was after goalkeeper Byrne Omondi ended up fumbling a loose ball at the edge of the box, leaving Angola’s Alberto Adao ready to pounce.

The Kenya Police midfielder had to commit a last-ditch tackle from behind, denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Initially shown a yellow card, the challenge was upgraded to red after VAR review, leaving referee Saduo Brahamou with no choice but to send him off.

Lightning struck again against Morocco on Sunday. This time, the culprit being Chrispine Erambo. Similar to Nabwire, centre referee Vincent Kabore had to be called to the pitchside monitor, only to see Erambo’s studs catching Anass El Mahraoui high on the shin.

Erambo’s challenge fell under serious foul play, risking the safety of an opponent and using extreme force or brutality.

McCarthy, speaking at the post-match conference, insisted that finishing games with 10 men is never in his tactical blueprint.

“It’s not something that I planned on the training pitch. I'd rather we finish the game with 11 men so that we get more chances to explore more, but unfortunately, it's two games in a row,” said the South African tactician.

The former Bafana Bafana striker argued that Erambo’s foul was purely accidental, and under the new red card rules, the referee should have only issued a yellow card.

“It was more unfortunate. He went to clear the ball and missed it completely, and caught the Moroccan player on the shin, but it was accidental. The rules they came to tell us on the pitch were that if the referee deemed it accidental, the player would get away with it and a caution,” said McCarthy.

The ex-Man United assistant coach has been tweaking his line-ups and squads differently for the three games, to close down the opponents’ attacks once Kenya take the lead.

Against the DR Congo, he started the game with a 4-4-2 formation, before shifting to a more defensive setup in the second half.

Defender Mike Kibwage replaced Ryan Ogam, while Chrispine Erambo and Ben Stanley Omondi came on for Alpha Onyango and David Sakwa respectively, in the 80th minute.

Youngster Manzur Okwaro and Masoud Juma were also substituted for Nabwire and Boniface Muchiri respectively.

Against Angola, McCarthy had to sacrifice Muchiri after Nabwire’s red card in the 21st minute, and replaced him with Kibwage to solidify his backline.

For Morocco, McCarthy made extensive changes, benching captain Aboud Omar and regular scorer Austine Odhiambo, favouring a squad built for defensive discipline.

When asked how he managed to keep the players in the right mindset to hold on to their lead, he hinted at employing the tactics of former Chelsea and Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho, whom he played under while at FC Porto.

“I played under a certain coach, Jose Mourinho, who is a master of that. As a player playing in a team of 10 men, it is hell. We used to manage it like it was our everyday thing. I have learned the trade and the tricks of working with Mourinho, where you adjust and who to sacrifice,” he added.

The former Cape Town City FC manager hinted that he would do the same against Angola, based on what he’s seen in training.

“It’s not going to be pretty for the fans because they want to see attacking football, but when you think about it, it’s most important to protect your goal, and when you are in the lead, you protect it at all costs,” he said.

McCarthy said Harambee Stars players will have to work extra hard with this approach, and that they would use it to prevent conceding goals early in the competition.

“Sometimes defenders have to play midfield or striker jobs. I just take myself back to my Porto days when we used to get a player sent off under Jose. One of the strikers gets taken off, and the other runs himself down like a donkey. The rest, we park a train and a bus,” he said.

Kenya take on Zambia in their final group match on Sunday, August 17, hoping to seal a spot in the quarterfinals.