From the famous Motaung father and son history which provides the definition of Kaizer Chiefs, the club has another similar story for the 2025/26 season.
Aden McCarthy has put his best foot forward in his push for regular minutes in the first team at Chiefs this season.
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The 21-year-old is the son of Fabian McCarthy and was born while his father was reporting for duty south of Johannesburg.
Though he has mostly played for the DDC team, McCarthy Jnr has trained with the first team for three years.
He made his first-team debut in May when he played 86 minutes at left-back against Sekhukhune United but is now pressing harder for his break in moving towards emulating his father.
With Rushwin Dortley not yet fully fit, McCarthy has been handed the opportunity during the pre-season camp in Holland and has looked comfortable.
His father – Fabian – was a composed central defender with ball-playing abilities, who started 148 games at Chiefs and scored seven goals.
McCarthy senior’s break came in the 1997/98 season at Bloemfontein Celtic when he played 13 matches and scored his first goal in the professional ranks four days before he turned 21 in May 1998.
Three years later, he went to the 2000 Sydney Olympics with the national Under-23 side, where they famously beat Brazil.
From there, ‘Fabi’ had his proposed move to Cyprus club Apollon Limassol fall by, after which he then joined Mamelodi Sundowns.
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After the Tshwane giants, it was five years at Chiefs, then two at Moroka Swallows before his career began to go south in his early 30s at Maritzburg United and Mpumalanga Black Aces, where called it quits at the end of 2010/11.
McCarthy (48) won 10 Bafana Bafana caps and is now a television pundit.
Photo: Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images
