Culture shock for Chiefs recruit
Sibongiseni Gumbi
Kaizer Chiefs’ new midfielder Kearyn Baccus has been at the club for just two months, but he already has a goal and a Man-of-the-Match award.
It hasn’t been plain sailing, however, for the 28-year-old midfielder who was born in Durban but raised in Australia, where he was playing before joining Chiefs. He said it has been a bit of a struggle for him to adapt to local football and he feels local teams are lagging behind when compared to Australia clubs.
Baccus joined Chiefs from Aussie side Melbourne City in June.
“It’s been good so far. I am happy I am here and I am happy to be helping the team. I want to win something this season.
“It’s been okay I guess, I still have a lot more to give. It has taken a while to get used to football here because it is different from Australia. But so far so good, and I am happy,” he said.
Baccus said the direct football played by the smaller teams in the league has made it difficult for him to adapt.
“The football in Australia is not as direct as it is here. In Australia we looked to play a lot more. Adapting is taking a little while.
“The league here is very tough. So far I have seen four teams who are really, really good. The rest are good but football-wise they are not as good as Australian teams. Here you get (Mamelodi) Sundowns, (Orlando) Pirates and SuperSport (United) who play good football but the rest are kind of not that good. I am going to have to get used to that compared to Australia because everyone over there tries to play, even the bottom teams build up from the back.
“Here the likes of Polokwane and Highlands Park and the other not so big teams play direct, which is not easy to get used to,” he added.
Chiefs meet Baroka FC in their next game at the FNB Stadium at 6pm tomorrow.