Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala has sent a strong message on his side’s upcoming campaign after the pre-season camp they had in the Netherlands.
Amakhosi faced a challenging pre-season camp in Holland, where their results were largely underwhelming, recording four losses and only one victory.
The Soweto giants kicked off their European tour with a 2-1 defeat to Vitesse, followed by a significant 4-0 thrashing from Utrecht.
Their difficulties continued with another 1-0 loss against Nijmegen. However, coach Nasreddine Nabi‘s squad did show a little resurgence, securing a vital 1-0 win over PEC Zwolle, before wrapping up their overseas friendlies with a 2-1 defeat to FC Twente.
Shabalala believes Chiefs gleaned crucial lessons from their European pre-season, which he’s confident they will effectively apply in the upcoming season. He firmly stated that the club is set for a solid campaign.
SHABALALA BELIEVES CHIEFS RETURNED WITH CRUCIAL LESSONS FROM EUROPE
“From what I see, our season will be very good because the level of the teams we played with during our pre-season camp in the Netherlands is very high,” said Shabalala on Prime Time Sports with Victor Molefe on UKhozi FM.
“You could see them, they play in big competitions like [UEFA] Europa League. They are in a better level than us but we learnt a lot while there.
“We will be happy when our season goes well especially after the pre-season we had in Europe.”
Shabalala says the camp overseas was also about getting to know each other better as players while welcoming the new signings.
“Going to the Netherlands was also about getting to know each other as players and also welcome the new signings while preparing for the new season,” Shabalala added.
“But physically, it was very hard because we couldn’t find time to rest. We were playing games every now and then. The training was also intense a lot.”
In their next match, Chiefs take on Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko in the Toyota Cup on Saturday, 26 July at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
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