Chiefs fans overjoyed A comeback of As Khune makes… all comebacks!

Tumeleng Khune may have gone through all the ups and downs with the Kaizer Chiefs supporters over the years, including being harshly criticized when the team loses a game with him between the sticks, but an undeniable fact remains that he is very much a p

I salute

Khune! Vuyani Joni: Legend, thanks so much for taking time to talk to us. As indicated, we would like to discuss Itumeleng Khune’s return to action for Kaizer Chiefs and the impact he’s had. What was your impression of his stand-out performance against Stellenbosch FC in the quarterfinals of the MTN8?

William Shongwe:

Ha, ha, ha, you know what, I think it was a masterstroke move by the technical team. I’m sure there were debates that might

have gone through the night before that game, for the technical team to have made that decision to start with Itu. Errr… there was a potential for a backlash, should things go wrong with

that decision.

VJ: Definitely! WS:

You know, supporters just want a win and how you do it doesn’t matter to them. So, when you are going to make a decision and it comes with a loss, the supporters will have opinions as to how you should have handled the situation. I think, for Khune in person, I really salute him! From the highs that he came from to have gone the whole season without a single appearance in the league campaign, having only played in the MTN8 against

Mamelodi Sundowns, and come back this season in such an impressive way is unbelievable! For him to have been sidelined for this long, obviously he had to be professional about it, which is why I salute him because it takes a lot of professionalism to have absorbed the pressure, be on the sidelines and accept your fate that, at the moment you’re not the number one goalkeeper. To have continued to work hard behind the scenes, without getting a look into for so long, which for me was always going to be the key, because I always asked myself, “When Khune gets called upon, is he going to be ready mentally?” You see, this is my advice to all the goalkeepers because this is a special position, unlike an in-field player who can be played, substituted and get someone else in, no ways. Goalkeeping is different because you have to maintain consistency and continuity.

VJ: Right. WS:

What Khune did, in being able to wait for his chance while working hard, and I said

it as advice to him to say he must go back to doing what he did at first to get where he was, which is working hard. I think Khune stopped working hard because things were beginning to happen automatically for him. He didn’t have to apply himself that much, but unfortunately, in football you’ve got to stay on the edge all the time. That’s why I salute him for having maintained order mentally and continued to believe that his time will come, as much as people were writing him off. You don’t write goalkeepers off as easy as that, particularly someone who has achieved so much, someone who has played for as long as Itu has done. I mean, you don’t just become bad overnight. You just have to tweak a few things in your training sessions, your mentality, personal life outside of football and then you will bounce back. That game (against

Stellenbosch), you have no idea what it did to Khune. Today, Khune is a world-beater and he’s on top of the world, mentally. That is all he needed, a game that would bring his confidence back. I mean, honestly, I was so happy for him because I always knew that Khune needed a break of some sort, but the timing was what mattered. I was just not sure whether when the opportunity was presented to him, he would be ready, but he

proved to be ready.

VJ: When someone has been out of action for a while, there’s a gradual process of reintegrating them into the team, like sitting on the bench, getting 20 minutes to play until they

Iand walked straight into the starting line-up, which was a risk by coach

Arthur Zwane and his technical team. Yes, the risk worked out. However, not much is being said about the coach’s

bravery, but had the decision backfired, all sorts of conspiracy theories would have been flying about.

WS:

“What were they doing or thinking?” would have been the question directed to the technical team had coach Arthur’s decision backfired. That’s why I said, earlier, the decision to have Itu in goals, the discussion must have gone throughout the night. It couldn’t have been easy at all. You’re 100% right to say credit must go to the technical team for being that brave. Had things gone wrong, that decision would have backfired big time. Having said that, let’s also give Khune the credit and let’s also give the whole Kaizer Chiefs family credit, as well as the supporters for the way they all embraced that decision. Khune responded well and went on to put up a brilliant show for them. They say, “Form is temporary, but class is permanent”, and nothing could better sum up Itu’s performance on the day. He’s always been a classy goalkeeper and all he needed was a chance and (to) switch his mind right, to revive his class.

VJ: What does that performance say to coach Zwane and his technical team?

WS: Before we talk about them, I’m sure all they’re saying is, “We knew he was going to deliver, which is why we played him in the first place.” They surely expected no less. Unfortunately for (Brandon) Petersen and (Bruce)

Bvuma, obviously things didn’t go their way and that didn’t help them at all, which is why the chance to rope Khune back in presented itself. The bad thing is that people are going to start saying they were not good enough – no, no, no, you play as a team. Win or lose, you remain a team. Now that Khune is back and led the team to a win against Stellenbosch under very testing conditions, it is going to be easy for some to say Chiefs would have lost had it been one of the other two goalkeepers. No, no, no, that would be wrong. What Khune brought is just the confidence, when he organizes, when he calls and instructs his defence, the strong personality and experience that he has, and the players responded. That doesn’t mean Khune is invincible, he’s going to concede and have bad games as well, but he brings something that other goalkeepers don’t have yet. It is not about

his agility or saves, it is about his presthat from the shops, it comes with years of experihat’s ence and t what the t wo goalkeepers need to know and understand. That’s why they need to grow and have presence when they’re in goals.

VJ: For someone who’s not played for that long, he’s not getting any younger. Is it sustainable for Chiefs to rely so heavily on Khune this season?

WS: Let’s just hope there were no injuries sustained (against Stellies) because when the body has not been active for so long, at this level, injuries become a problem. Maybe two days after that game, he really felt sore and the after-effects were there. Fortunately for him, there were no games midweek, which gave him enough time to rest and recover. He played on the weekend and ther e’s another long period before he can play his third game.Youkn ow, when I joined Orlando Pirates, I had not been paying at Chiefs before my move. However,Iwasth rown into the deep end. Fortunately, we won my first game against Pretoria City and they had some great players likeThomas“Who’s Fooling Who” Hlongwane and Basil Steenkamp, to mention j ust two. I used that game as a sp ringboard as we won 2-0 and the next game was against Dynamos and we beat them by the same score margin. By the third game … I ca n’t even remember whoweplaye d … I was flying and so high in confidence. So, that’s all Khune needs! Three games or so and he will be as good as he was 10 years ago, and I mean it.

VJ: So you’re not worried about his physical condition and playing backto-back games after such a long time off?

WS: Khune has been training very hard behind the scenes. Also, you know that goalkeepers mature with age. If he was a striker, defender or midfielder, then I would be worried. The in-field players’ bodies work much more than the goalkeeper’s

because goalkeepers, in game situations, rest a lot, even though they remain mentally switched on. That’s where the difference is and I can tell you now, Khune still has another five good years in him! Five good seasons, at least!

VJ: Marking his return with such a performance will obviously make it

sider him. You’ve already touched on the other two goalkeepers, but what does that say to Peterson and Bvuma?

WS: Go back to the trenches! Work even harder than before because Khune has sent a very strong message. He’s made it clear that they can’t think he’s out of the picture anymore. Now their job has been made even harder. The only thing for them now is to go out there and dig deeper. There’s no two ways about it.

VJ: How do you make sure that the supporters don’t celebrate Khune’s return at the expense of these two younger goalkeepers?

WS:

Here’s one thing that those two goalkeepers, or any other goalkeeper porters will always be supporters. Like I told you earlier on, all the supporters want is just a win. That’s who they are. They are so fickle, ha, ha, ha. They will turn against you now-now, just a game after they had hero-worshipped you. So, you can’t judge what the supporters do and base your feelings on it. You’re a professional, you’re getting paid to do the job and this is where your mental strength has to come forward, exactly when things are not going your way.

You have to raise your standards and become higher than an ordinary footballer. As long as you know that you’re still part of the team, waiting for your opportunity, working as hard

as you can at training, then you’ve got nothing else to worry about. You give Khune the biggest challenge ever at training and then you’re doing your job. What the supporters are saying is just them expressing an opinion and

you won’t change or stop them. They

wo weekends ago proves as much. In fact, a ertain section of the supporters in attendance t that match kept chanting “Khune! hune! Khune!”, obviously in awe that the entersdorp-born player was back on the eld after a year out of competitive action. aving two penalties in the tense shootout hat followed further cemented his place in he hearts of the Khosi Nation, who have endured a rather sub-standard start to the season with Bruce Bvuma and Brandon

Petersen in goals, not to mention that they’ve not fared any better since Khune’s last outing against Mamelodi Sundowns in August 2021. However, all that said, the tricky part for the technical team is keeping him fit and as hungry as ever, while maintaining fairness in the goalkeeping department competition. In this feature, Soccer Laduma editor Vuyani Joni and Lunga Adam ask a few role-players in the game to share their thoughts on the return of one of local football’s most decorated stars.