Solinas confirms he’ll call big guns for derby
Castro, Billiat and Zuma ‘will be fine’
Contrary to the belief that his team selection in their Telkom Knockout victory over Black Leopards at the weekend was caused by Saturday’s Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas has claimed his regulars were only out on doctor’s orders.
Without usual suspects such as Khama Billiat, Daniel Cardoso, Siyabonga Ngezana and Dumisani Zuma in the matchday squad, Chiefs had to rely on penalties to progress to the last eight of the Knockout at FNB Stadium on Sunday. No1 goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune watched from the bench as second-choice Virgil Vries saved two penalties to hand Amakhosi a 4-2 win after the match had finished 1-1. “The doctor said to me, ‘these players [regular starters] cannot play’. It was not my choice. We didn’t have [Leonardo] Castro, Lebo [Manyama], Billiat, Zuma and Siya [Ngezana]. Maybe you can change one or two players, but you keep your structure. This bad luck [of injuries] is not finished at Kaizer Chiefs, it’s unbelievable,” stated Solinas. Nevertheless, the Amakhosi mentor registered his optimism that his key troops would have recovered come Saturday when they face Pirates in the much-anticipated Soweto derby, his first since taking charge at the start of this campaign.
“I hope these guys recover for the derby. Castro starts the full training session with the team. Billiat, I hope he’ll be fine. Zuma as well, because guys, Zuma is a very talented player,” said Solinas.
In what sounded like mind games, the Italian tactician heaped praises on his Buccaneers counterpart Milutin Sredojevic, dubbing him “fantastic coach” while jokingly belittling himself.
“The derby is a special game for the coach, players, the club and for the supporters. So we need to prepare very good for this game. It’ll be a very difficult game because Pirates play well. Fantastic coach ... but also, Chiefs have good players ... [but] no good coach,” he said. Without the likes of Billiat and Zuma among others against Leopards, Solinas conceded it was always going to be difficult to soldier on without them, likening them to Barcelona trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele. “Without the three key players, even Barcelona can find it difficult to play. “If Barcelona play without Suarez, Messi and Dembele, they are not the same. I respect the players that played today and I believe in them. But it’s not every team that have Castro, Billiat or Lebo.”