Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral has offered a thoughtful take on Amakhosi’s potential in the CAF Confederation Cup, saying winning the title is unlikely, but the competition will play an important role in the team’s development.
Chiefs have shown signs of improvement compared to last season, particularly in their defensive organisation.
Coming into the new season, Chiefs have shown signs of progress compared to last term, especially in the defensive spaces.
Their improvement under coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze has stood out, even though the attacking play has faced plenty of question marks.
Ertugral believes the CAF Confederation Cup is a different beast. Despite his low expectations for a shock championship for the Chiefs, the former Amakhosi coach believes the experience of difficult away fixtures and high-pressure matches could benefit the squad in the medium to long term. Ertugal says Amakhosi should therefore expect a higher-quality team next season.
The Soweto giants laboured through the preliminary rounds into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup. The first group stage match was a 2-1 away to Egypt’s Al Masry SC, followed by a 1-1 home draw against Zamalek SC, leaving them with one point, behind second-place Zamalek (four points) and group leaders Al Masry (six points), while Zesco United are rock bottom with zero points.
MUHSIN ERTUGRAL QUESTIONS KAIZER CHIEFS ATTACKS
According to Ertugral, the defensive improvement has been evident, but the attack is yet to convince.
“I see that the team’s defensive structure has become much better,” Ertugral said on the OmniAudioAfrica podcast. “But I have a problem with the team in a certain way, the entries in the third zone are not good enough to hurt teams.
“They play everything at 200 km. I feel sometimes they look like the highway. They come so quickly, but the rest defence is not organised. They are a lot of synergies that need to be better but they are definitely better than last year. That you could see.
“They need to get together and find solutions to challenge,” added Ertugral, who lifted the 2001 African Cup Winners’ Cup with Chiefs.
“Africa will be difficult, has to be organised for Chiefs to win something. I don’t think the team has the pedigree to win this international cup.
“But any forward steps bring the team together. The away game challenges in Africa are not easy. The challenges will bring the team together and help them next season,” the former Chiefs mentor concluded.
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