Khune on differences between Solinas and Steve
Goalie says trophy drought will end
Itumeleng Khune has expressed optimism that the players will adjust well to the tactics of new Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas after admitting to having found it difficult to understand the methods of previous boss Steve Komphela.
“He [Solinas] told us his philosophy and how he wants us to play on and off the ball,” Khune said.
“We struggled a bit under coach Steve because a lot of us couldn’t adjust to what he wanted from us as players.”
After three barren seasons, there is renewed hope at Amakhosi after the appointment of Solinas last Friday.
After a three-month wait, management finally hired the Italian, who has only two weeks to prepare the team before the new season starts.
Solinas got to see his players in action for the first time at the weekend when they clinched the Bokone Bophirima Maize Cup at James Motlatsi Stadium.
All eyes were on Chiefs’ new 50-year-old tactician, who watched from the stands.
Khune said Chiefs must find success under the new mentor if the current crop of players is to avoid going down in history as the worst bunch of players the club has had.
“We have to go back to winning trophies, that is our culture,” he said.
“We as players told ourselves that we do not want to be remembered as the generation that broke the record of not winning trophies.”
Marquee signing Khama Billiat has made Khune even more hopeful that the trophy drought will soon be over.
“He [Billiat] is a great player who finds the spaces and capitalises. He used to give us a tough time when we played Sundowns and hopefully he will bring that to the club,” Khune said.
Free State Stars coach Luc Eymael wishes Giovanni Solinas the best of luck as Kaizer Chiefs coach, with the Belgian insisting that he is not at all bitter after missing out on the Chiefs’ head coach job.
The Italian won the race to be Chiefs coach after the club went four months without a head coach since Steve Komphela’s resignation in April.
There was a point in the last few months where Eymael was regarded as the favourite to get the Amakhosi job.
On Friday, Chiefs put an end to all the speculation when they made the former Stars boss their coach.
“He speaks French and he was at Stars when I was at Polokwane City and he was also in Algeria at ES Setif,” said Eymael after Ea Lla Koto lost 6-5 on penalties in the Bokone Bophirima Maize Cup to a Chiefs side guided by Patrick Mabedi.
Solinas, who’s yet to finalise his work permit, could only watch from the stands as Amakhosi clinched the Maize Cup at James Motlatsi Stadium on Saturday.
“He’s a good coach who likes his team to play with plenty of possession so all the best to him at Kaizer Chiefs,” Eymael said.
Eymael, who won the Nedbank Cup with Stars last season, insists there were no hard feelings after a potential move to SuperSport United also failed to materialise.
“If no big team wants to sign me it’s no problem. I have said before that I will show commitment to Stars if no concrete offer comes in,” he said.