Kaizer Chiefs full-back Dillan Solomons has paid tribute to the legendary former Bafana Bafana midfielder, Siphiwe ‘Shabba’ Tshabalala, for his significant “behind-the-scenes” contributions.
Solomons made the revelation following Chiefs’ victory over Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final.
Amakhosi displayed remarkable determination to defeat the Bucs in front of a full house at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday. Gaston Sirino successfully converted a penalty in the first half, but Evidence Makgopa equalised shortly after. Yusuf Maart then secured the victory with a goal just 10 minutes before the final whistle.
The victory marked the end of Amakhosi’s decade-long trophy drought. Solomons has since paid tribute to Shabba for his contributions.
The former Bafana Bafana star has been having talks with the team at the invitation of Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi, who has a lot of respect for him. On Thursday, Nabi extended an invitation to several other ex-Chiefs players.
DILLAN SOLOMONS’ TRIBUTE TO SHABBA
“[The talk with legends]. It was more of just using this moment to rewrite history for us as a team and obviously just to motivate us,” explained Solomons. “I think it did a lot for us as players just to show that we have the support of the legends.”
He went on to reveal that “Shabba has been there for the team for a very long time”.
“You guys wouldn’t know that, but Shabba has been there for us, working behind the scenes with us a lot. It shows that they are there to support us in every moment they get. You could see that it meant a lot for them,” added Solomons.
The former Moroka Swallows wing-back said they always knew the Buccaneers would be a tricky opponent.
“Pirates are a good team, we knew it was gonna be a dog fight. They would get good moments, but it was all about moments.
“When we had moments, we knew we had to take the opportunities we were getting. We had to weather storms… we didn’t drop our heads, we kept going. When our opportunity came, we had to take that moment and use it in a good way.”
Chiefs now shift focus to their remaining two games of the season. They play Sekhukhune United on Saturday before closing the season with a clash against Polokwane City on 24 May.
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