Manchester United (Man Utd) may already be seeing the influence of Benny McCarthy’s attacking style after Antony stunned the football world with a near-perfect execution of the ‘Scara Ngobese’ double 360° spin last night.
Watch: Antony pulls off ‘Black Jesus’ spin
The Reds hosted FC Sheriff on Matchday 5 of the 2022 UEFA Europa League on Thursday, and, as expected, the home side delivered a blistering performance.
Man Utd forwards Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as defender Diogo Dalot, registered a goal each on the scoresheet, leading their side to a thumping 3 – 0 victory.
However, much of the talk on social media centred around Antony’s signature antics. The eccentric Brazilian has, over his career, garnered notoriety for showboating. On Thursday, he made headlines in the UK for this daring trickery.
While elsewhere, especially in the UK, Antony’s antics were highly criticised, South Africans recognised the show of skill as an interpretation of Kaizer Chiefs football legend Emmanuel ‘Scara’ Ngobese’s double 360° spin.
Man Utd loyalists who appreciated the moment of artistry from the attacking winger gave credit to McCarthy for instilling Diski mentality at the club. Of course, we’ll probably never know if, indeed, Antony’s ‘Scara Ngobese’ spin was Benni’s teachings.
Alas, these clips of Ngobese executing the same move made was a welcomed moment of nostalgia.
Emmanuel ‘Scara’ Ngobese biography
In South Africa, Emmanuel ‘Scara’ Ngobese is immortalised as a football icon born in Katlehong, Gauteng, on 3 June 1980, and Diski’s ‘Black Jesus’.
His street-style finesse cut him above the rest during his development years between 1994 and 1998.
Ngobese made a name for himself in Chiefs’ senior team between 2003 and 2005 under the late Ted Dumitru’s reign. The Romanian manager understood Ngobese’s special skillset and used it perfectly to create a championship side that won:
- two PSL titles (2003/2004, 2004/2005);
- two Telkom Knockout trophies (2003, 2004); and
- the Vodacom Challenge against TP Mazembe (2003).
Dumitru’s exit from Chiefs is recognised as the start of Ngobese’s career downfall. German coach Ernst Middeldorp, a hardened strategist with a practical philosophy, didn’t see the spark in Ngobese’s flaunting.
Scara spent the entire first season of Middeldopr’s helm on the sidelines, and it was evident his time at Naturena had come to a crashing close. Ngobese found a new home at Thanda Royal Zulu, now owned by AmaZulu FC, but failed to return to his fine form.
This is when the health problems kicked in. The footballer struggled with tuberculosis and was forced to cut his dwindling career short. On 11 May 2010, after a few years of battling the disease, Ngobese passed away.
Here is a compilation video of Scara’s unforgettable moments:
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