Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy and English legend Alan Shearer were among seven players honoured by Blackburn Rovers this week, as the club celebrated its 150th anniversary at a special Gala dinner.
It was an evening steeped in memory, prestige, and a touch of footballing romance as Blackburn Rovers marked a remarkable milestone, 150 years of history, by honouring some of the figures who helped shape its story.
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At a glittering gala dinner held on Thursday night, the club paid tribute to seven distinguished names, awarding them Honour Caps in recognition of their lasting contributions. Among those celebrated were two strikers whose reputations stretch far beyond Ewood Park: McCarthy and Shearer.
For McCarthy, the moment carried a particular resonance. The former Bafana star was recognised not just for his goals, but for the indelible mark he left during his time in England. Sharing the stage with them were Craig Short, Charlie Mulgrew, Craig Conway, Roger Jones, and Phil Jones.
McCarthy’s journey to Blackburn was already gilded with European success. Fresh from lifting the UEFA Champions League with FC Porto under the guidance of José Mourinho, he arrived at Ewood Park in 2006 carrying both pedigree and expectation. It did not take long for him to announce himself, scoring on his debut, a sign of things to come.
What followed was a spell that quickly endeared him to the Blackburn faithful. In the 2006/07 season, McCarthy struck 24 goals in all competitions, 18 of them in the league, showcasing a predatory instinct in front of goal that defenders struggled to contain. Over the course of his time with Rovers, he amassed 52 goals in 141 appearances, a return that places him firmly among the club’s most effective modern forwards. .
To see McCarthy – now a respected coach currently in charge of the Kenyan national team – honoured alongside a figure like Shearer, himself a towering icon of English football and one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever goalscorers, served as a reminder of the company he keeps in Blackburn’s history.
As Rovers looked back on a century and a half of footballing heritage, the evening was more than just a celebration of the past. It was a recognition of those who carried the club’s identity onto the pitch, who etched their names into its folklore. And among them, McCarthy’s name still shines brightly, an enduring symbol of excellence, pride, and goals that will not soon be forgotten.
After retiring, McCarthy turned to coaching, making his mark at Cape Town City and AmaZulu in South Africa, while he was also part of the technical team at Manchester United for two seasons. While currently in charge of Kenya, the 48-year-old has said recently he hopes to return to club coaching, and who knows, one day he may even return to Ewood Park wearing a different hat.
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