Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen has opened up about a video played by coach Nasreddine Nabi, which fuelled the team to fight for the Nedbank Cup trophy on Saturday.
Amakhosi emerged with a 2-1 win against cross-town rivals Orlando Pirates at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday. Gaston Sirino and Yusuf Maart got the goals for Chiefs while Evidence Makgopa hit the target for Pirates.
This cup triumph represents Chiefs’ first major piece of silverware in almost a decade. Against the odds, many hadn’t given them a chance, particularly due to their recent lacklustre form, which included a string of disappointing results. They had managed to win only one of their last eight matches, causing them to slip out of the top eight and settle in ninth place on the Betway Premiership table amid inconsistent performances.
However, on Saturday afternoon, they showcased an entirely different spirit. Petersen, who was making his first start since December 8, 2024, when Chiefs suffered a 2-0 defeat to Polokwane City FC, revealed that the game-changing video had a significant impact on the team’s mindset.
WHAT VIDEO DID NABI SHOW CHIEFS THAT INSPIRED THEIR NEDBANK CUP WIN?
The 30-year-old goalkeeper revealed that the compilation video Nabi played for them during their pre-match team talk was that extra boost they needed.
“Before the game – in our pre-match talk – we had a video, like a compilation from all our families and kids sending us messages,” Petersen revealed. “That was enough for us…enough encouragement for us to go and fight. It made us realise that we’re not fighting for ourselves.
“There are millions of people out there supporting us, spending their last cent to come out and watch it. This is for them.”
The doubts people had around the team, Petersen added, made the victory even sweeter.
“I think it was special because there was a lot of doubt,” explained Petersen. “It doesn’t matter who we played today [Saturday]. There was always gonna be that ‘when are they gonna break the duck’, ‘when are they gonna win a trophy’. I think just the moment itself, whether we played any other team, we wanted it more.
“We were fighting for, not only for us but also millions of people that had our backs through the bad times. Today [Saturday] made it sweet because we had all our supporters supporting us. We had all the love from our families.”
This marked just the fourth appearance of the former Bidvest Wits goalkeeper this season. He will be eager to build on his last performance, where he made several key saves in the second-half to help maintain Chiefs’ lead.
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