Amakhosi’s statement of intent
For a change, Chiefs go for quality over quantity in market
● Zola Mahobe, the late former owner of Mamelodi Sundowns, had a personal favourite phrase: when Kaizer Chiefs sneezes we all catch cold.
Mahobe’s statement alluded to Chiefs’ dominance during a time when adjectives such as all-conquering, entertaining, kings of cups were associated with the Glamourous Boys with ease. In the last couple of seasons, Chiefs barely sneezed and hardly anybody caught hayfever.
These days they’ve developed an allergy, with an alarming alacrity to trophy hauling, which was previously second nature.
That’s been largely thanks to market recruitment activity that brought more paucity than potency, reducing the once allconquering powerhouse of the local game to an also-ran. January seems to have arrived with a new year’s resolution from a Chiefs management that has seemed more tightfisted than a safety vault.
Quality has replaced quantity with three signings that have been greeted with general goodwill by the Chiefs faithful. They are cooing because these acquisitions appear to be real ammunition in the Amakhosi arsenal.
Siphelele Ntshangase will infuse an element of incisive enterprise that none in the Chiefs midfield have been able to engineer. An attacking midfielder with a nose for goal and an ability to adapt to different offensive functions makes this 24-year-old a noteworthy catch.
It is curious that Chiefs could not afford a R2-million fee for him while he was at second division side Black Leopards yet they have coughed up the same amount to Baroka FC just four months after he joined from Lidoda Duvha. The move has echoes of striker Kenny Niemach moving from Mamelodi Sundowns to Manning Rangers only to switch to Chiefs a few days after signing for the now-defunct Durban club.
The expectation among the black and gold congregation is for Leonardo Castro to be the panacea to the scoring problems. Another R2-million buy, Colombian Castro, 28, could combine well with fellow South American Gustavo Paez.
Fingers crossed that in Castro they are not getting a South American frontman who was red-hot at Downs but stone cold at Chiefs ala Venezuelan José Torrealba, who was a pale shadow of his former self by the time he switched Chloorkop for Naturena.
A further new addition is attacking midfielder Kabelo Mahlasela. Signed from Bloemfontein Celtic, a son of Sebokeng in the Vaal, the 26-year-old is another welcome addition at Chiefs. In the 12 matches he played for Celtic in the current campaign, six starts and six subs, Mahlasela showed a creative spark imbued with a sense of serenity enveloped in efficiency.
Those who monitored Celtic’s trek to the Telkom Knockout final and his contribution during his two years at Phunya Sele Sele will testify about his telling play.
The splash of cash is an admission on the part of Chiefs that they can’t continue overreliance on the long-in-the-tooth stalwarts such as Siphiwe Tshabalala, who turns 34 in September, Willard Katsande, who turns 32 next week Monday, and Bernard Parker, who celebrates his 32nd birthday in March.
Not everyone is a Siyabonga Nomvethe whose engine is still purring at 40 years.
It is an observation not lost on club supremo Kaizer Motaung. The Chiefs chairman, in his new year message on the club site noted: “. . . some of the older guys, who have done tremendously well for Kaizer Chiefs in recent years, are slowing down and we need replacements for them over a period of time.”
He is not oblivious that Chiefs’ false teeth lack a vicious bite in front of goal and has acted to remedy the dire situation. “An example is the signing of the Colombian Leonardo Castro on the brink of 2018. He’s a good acquisition and the striker will make a significant impact on our attacking department, where we haven’t done so well.”
Chiefs’ activity during this January transfer window is a clear statement of intent: the club wants to close the second half of the campaign strongly with a view of scooping at least one of the two remaining pieces of silverware. “It has been a difficult journey in 2017. We were hoping that with coach Steve Komphela now in his third season that more positive results would be forthcoming, but that hasn’t happened as yet.”
Motaung usually errs on the side of sangfroid when it comes to sacking coaches. But Komphela better be warned that Motaung’s patience is not endless, with the following quote sounding a stern warning.
“We have now gone 2.5 years without winning a trophy and that’s disappointing,” he said. “But we won’t throw in the towel.
“There are no short cuts and the margins between the different teams are small, but there is still a lot to play for — the Absa Premiership and the Nedbank Cup.”
Who knows if Chiefs’ infectiousness of their sneeze is back, but these signings are not to be sniffed at.
Castro will make a significant impact on our attacking department Kaizer Motaung Kaizer Chiefs chairman