Kaizer Chiefs
Who are the ‘young guns’ at Naturena that have been tasked with refreshing the side following their transfer ban?
The effects of their transfer ban have left Kaizer Chiefs with no choice but to take players from their Multichoice Diski Challenge team. Though some were promoted before the ban came into effect, the reality is that AmaKhosi have been tapping into their feeder team more often than they would have done under normal circumstances and the Diski graduates have embraced the challenge. KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo looks at the players that have come through the ranks in recent times. Keletso Sifama (17)
The youngest of the ‘new stock’, Keletso Sifama only turns 18 at the end of April and hails from the Ekurhuleni township of Katlehong. He is still a Grade 11 student.
He made an encouraging debut towards the end of last season, which included winning a penalty against Polokwane City, and then started against Mamelodi Sundowns, lasting up to the break as he got a true taste of PSL football.
Sifama was promoted to the first team upon the return of football after the lockdown last year and has gone on to add three further first team appearances off the bench against Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Swallows FC.
To be thrown into the deep end at his age provides plenty of indications about his potential. Sifama’s time in the development and the reserves was simply sensational.
The teenager joined Chiefs from Kathorus Hyper Academy, played one game for the development before charming his way up the ranks into the first team feeder team.
“We got the boy from Katlehong Young Boys when he was playing
for their Under-13 team,” says Nathi Zwane, the Kathorus Hyper Academy chairman who doubles up as the Under-19 coach.
He adds: “He joined along with his coach Wanda Mtshali, who is now one of our coaches. The boy was 13 when he joined us, but we played him in our Under-15 team in the Gauteng Development League.
“They [Chiefs] then approached us when they saw him playing two games for our Under-17 and Under-19 team aged 15, both against them. Chiefs then asked us for the boy so that they try him in their team and within three games in their development they had promoted him to their MDC team, after which they tried him out in the Shell Cup and Macufe Cup.
“We were thrilled that within such a short time the boy had gotten so much exposure. We had nine players from our academy who played in MDC teams last season, but he was the youngest.
“The boy is originally from here in Katlehong, but he was staying in our clubhouse with the other boys so that we manage them easier since they go to school in the morning and then train in the afternoon.
“When he signed his first team contract Chiefs called us to be there instead of having of having agents, like what happens with some of the boys when they leave.
“Whenever Chiefs have time off, he doesn’t go home first but comes back to the clubhouse because the other boys need to be inspired that it is one of their own that has made it to the professional ranks.
“With us the boy played as a striker, then a winger and even a centre-back once he had scored goals for us. That is how talented he is. I mean, this is a boy was with a township academy and after leaving us he overtook those that he found at the Chiefs development,” explains Zwane.
Nicknamed ‘ Teko’, he is a winger-cumstriker who plays with a bag of tricks when he has the ball at his feet and will be cutting through many a defence in the coming years.
The national Under-20 selectors have already taken notice.
Darrel Matsheke (20)
MultiChoice Diski Challenge graduate Darrel Matsheke can slot in both in defence and as a holding midfielder.
He has had three first team appearances as of mid-January, which included a start in the CAF Champions League qualifier match away in Angola, lasting 75 minutes as anchorman.
His report card from that game was well above average as he kept it simple, providing protection to the back four as Chiefs kept a clean-sheet.
Matsheke is the breed that is solid and unapologetic about it, forever using his energy to press and be stubborn when in control of the ball.
As a kid, he was at the Augusto Palacios Academy before being promoted to the Orlando Pirates development in 2012.
“He was in my academy for two years when he was much younger and then after that went to Kaizer Chiefs for trials where he was selected by Ace Khuse,” Palacios says. “He is a very good player, quick with the ball, intelligent and a great prospect. I know all the kids that have come through my academy very well and I remember he was so committed that he attended all training sessions.
“He was always hungry for success. He will obviously need more time now in the first team.”
Njabulo Blom (21)
Njabulo Blom from Dobsonville, Soweto has had minutes in every game that Chiefs had played this season up to mid-January, featuring as defensive midfielder.
His shifts are never spectacular – he keeps to the basics and plays according to the specific instructions that he has been given, which explains why he has won over Gavin Hunt, who has given him 90 minutes in more than half the games that he has played.
Though he was promoted to the first team in March 2019 when Ernst Middendorp was still in charge, he was used sparingly last season with just five appearances.
The 21-year-old is a multifunctional footballer who will fulfil whatever role he is tasked with, which is why he plays at the back and in central midfield with similar effectiveness and fluidity.
‘Stoppa’, as Blom is nicknamed, already has the experience of playing at the 2019 Under-20 World Cup finals in Poland, where he got a run in all three group matches.
He played for Zondi Bay United before joining the Kaizer Chiefs juniors.
“He is a good player, but I have noticed that complacency tends to creep into his game at times,” says former Kaizer Chiefs player Martin Carelse.
“Instead of releasing the ball quickly he tries holding on to it and then loses it easily in areas where he shouldn’t. I think he will better suited playing right-back because I have seen him playing that position in the MDC and he plays better there.
“I think what is costing Chiefs now is that the centre-backs get exposed because there is no-one really protecting them. What has made his transition into the first team easier is that he has come with a lot of other boys that he has previously played with in the MDC and the development.
“It was unlike when I arrived at Chiefs [in 2002] when there were so many seasoned players and it was difficult to get a chance in a team that had won many trophies,” add Carelse.
Lebohang Lesako (21)
Known as ‘Lord Guluva’, Lebohang Lesako’s first three appearances in the first team were against Mamelodi Sundowns, then twice versus Orlando Pirates, a huge call for any new kid on the block.
All three were from the bench and all
ended in defeat. Primarily a right wing, Lesako can be used in any attacking spaces as part of the supporting cast to the number nine.
He was born in Sebokeng and has been spoken of highly by those that have seen him play through his teenage years, which explains why some feel he can rise to the standards that were reached by Jabu Mahlangu while at the club.
Mahlangu [then using the surname Pule] was a menace and Lesako has shown similar flashes as well.
The 21-year-old has been with various clubs through his development, including Nale Academy before joining Chiefs in 2015, where he was immediately taken under the tutelage of Ace Khuse and Arthur Zwane.
All his first team appearances to date have been off the bench.
Happy Mashiane (23)
Two years after being promoted, all that Happy Mashiane had in his first 18 months in the first team was just six appearances and that pattern seems likely to continue this season with his games coming without any level of consistency whatsoever.
‘Vavo’ carries enough quality in his left foot to be playing more often than he has done so far.
His talent was always evident from his early days at the Mamelodi Sundowns Academy, but his progress has stagnated, and he is yet to put in a full 90 minutes shift in the first team.
At 23 he should be already loading minutes every week instead of rotating between the stands and the bench.
Fair and fine, the boy is living his dream by being a Chiefs player but then that should be accompanied by game time
“I think the boy is also aiming to play more than he has done so far and is not happy being in the situation that he finds himself. Time waits for nobody and he should be showing us why he is at Chiefs. Right now, I don’t know how he is going to fit in as the team hasn’t started the season well,” says Robson Muchichwa, who also played in a similar position to Mashiane during his time at Chiefs.
Nkosingiphile Ngcobo (21)
Nkosingiphile Ngcobo has the potential to reach great heights, even he still needs to make his presence felt a lot more than he has done so far.
The 21-year-old is comfortable on the ball using his sweet left foot but tends to be shy in his play and evidence to this is that his contributions in areas that hurt the opposition are limited.
Ngcobo has already been with the first team for two years following his promotion from the MDC team and having now recovered from the injury that troubled him last term, his worth has grown in the team.
For all his intelligence on the ball, he will still need guidance to prosper and the beauty about him is that he has already been capped at junior international level so knows about the intensity after excelling at the African Under-20 Cup of Nations.
He was handed his debut by Ernst Middendorp in March 2019.
“The boy is not a bad player, plus he is young, so he is still going to learn a lot of things,” says Frank Makua, a yesteryear midfielder at Chiefs.
“He shouldn’t rush. I see him as a future star at Chiefs. Being at Chiefs he is faced with the challenge of doing the job right away and needs the support of his teammates to achieve what he needs.
“I like the fact that he is a ball-playing midfielder and given enough time he will come good and be a big player at Chiefs. He deserves a chance regardless of how the team is doing.”