Porto complete McCarthy signing

FC Porto have signed RC Celta de Vigo striker Benedict McCarthy on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to buy at the end of the season.

Name made at Ajax
Coach Octávio Machado snapped up the South Africa striker, who first shot to fame at AFC Ajax in the Netherlands, to boost his team’s league chances. Porto are second in the Portuguese first division and still in the UEFA Champions League.

'I want to play'
"All I want is to play,” McCarthy said after completing the move. “Porto will give me the chance and that's really important to me.” Porto will have an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.

'Coming to help'
“He is coming to help out,'' said Machado. “It's a normal situation. But he is not our salvation, as no player can reinvent a team by himself.” McCarthy completed a medical at the Das Antas stadium on Thursday.

World Cup hope
McCarthy has played in just two league games so far this season and Celta's decision to re-register Ecuador striker Iván Kaviedes in their first-team squad was likely to limit his chances still further. He has scored four goals in nine matches for South Africa and is eager for first-team football ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals.