Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Maart urges Kaizer Chiefs’ teammates to play without fear
YUSUF Maart is pleased with his seamless adaptation at Kaizer Chiefs, even though there’s still a room for improvement individually and collectively.
Maart is an Orlando Pirates development product. But such was the quality in the first team that he failed to make a senior debut at the club.
He was also loaned out to defunct second-tier outfit Cape Umoya United in 2018 where he was coached by former Pirates’ commander in chief Roger De Sa.
He returned to Pirates for the 2019/2020 season but didn’t feature for the team as he was deemed surplus, joining newbies Sekhukhune United.
Maart shone at Babina Noko in his first season, so much so that he was made captain, while he caught the eye of Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos.
He was rewarded with a move to Chiefs ahead of the new season as he fitted into the rebuilding plans of new coach Arthur Zwane.
Life at Amakhosi has started well for Maart personally, missing only two games since the start due to a red card he received against Richards Bay.
“For me, it’s been a good start. In football you need to adapt to any system. The system that Chiefs is playing suits me. And I adapted quickly,” he said.
Despite being one of the regulars due to his individual contributions, Maart received some stick from the fans. But he’s handled the criticism well. “To be honest, if you are a hard worker, and they know what talent you have, when you make a mistake, they (fans) will be hard on you,” Maart explained.
“They know what you can do. And as fans, they want the best for you. I understand that sometimes (especially playing for a club such as Chiefs).”
Chiefs’ rebuilding phase hasn’t gone according to plan. They are in the bottom half of the standings after a roller-coaster start. That has seen a group of their supporters already calling for the head of Zwane, who they feel can’t handle the pressure of the job.
Knowing that they haven’t been at their best collectively, Maart says they have to strive to improve in each and every game they play going forward.
“It’s early in the league and everyone is trying to find their feet. We’ll get where we want to be,” he said.
“As a footballer, you can’t panic and play with fear. If you play with fear, you won’t enjoy yourself and get what you want. But we are getting there.”
“Eventually we will get our start right and when we do, we’ll go and do what we have to do. But the mood in the team has been good so far,” he added.
Following two successive draws, Maart and Co will be eager to turn their fortunes around when they host SuperSport United at FNB Stadium today.
Unlike Chiefs, SuperSport have won back-to-back league games. But does that trouble Maart ahead of their clash tonight?
“They are finding their feet and working together. They have a team to respect but it’s our home game, so we’ll do what we need to do,” Maart said.