South African defender Eyden McCarthy scored for Sabah against Borussia Dortmund, becoming the first player from his country to find the net in the Champions League since Thulani Serero in 2013.
South African football has a new name in the most prestigious of club competitions.
Eyden McCarthy, a 22-year-old defender with Azerbaijani club Sabah, scored in the third round of the league phase of the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund, according to Azerbaijani outlet Sportinfo.az. According to the same source, he becomes the first South African to score in the competition for thirteen years, and the seventh representative of his country to register at least one goal in it.
Serero, the last previous case
You have to go back to 26 November 2013 to find the trace of the previous South African scorer. That evening, Thulani Serero, then in the colours of Ajax Amsterdam, had scored against FC Barcelona, according to Sportinfo.az.
Between that date and Eyden McCarthy’s goal for Sabah, thirteen years passed without a South African player finding the net in the competition. The 22-year-old defender therefore ends this long drought, in a league-phase match against Borussia Dortmund.
Benni McCarthy, the benchmark
Benni McCarthy, the former FC Porto striker, remains the most prolific South African in the Champions League, with 8 goals in 28 matches in the Portuguese shirt between 2003 and 2005, according to Sportinfo.az.
Benni McCarthy is also the only South African to have won the competition, the same source points out. Behind him, Steven Pienaar, with Ajax, and Quinton Fortune, with Manchester United, have 2 goals each.
Bennett Mnguni, in the colours of Lokomotiv Moscow, and Nasief Morris, with Panathinaikos, scored 1 goal each. With Eyden McCarthy, that brings to seven the number of South African scorers in the competition.
The league phase continues
This goal installs Eyden McCarthy in the history of South African football in the Champions League, after a league-phase match against Borussia Dortmund.
Sabah have yet to play the rest of their league phase.