Kaizer Chiefs co-head coach Cedric Kaze has issued a stern warning against the culture of over-praising young talent in South Africa, shedding light on the calculated psychological tactics used to manage rising star Thulani Mabaso.
The promotion of youth prospects into the senior ranks of the Betway Premiership has seen exponential growth over the past few years. This shift has fundamentally altered how clubs view their development structures, with the DStv Diski Challenge [DDC] serving as a high-performance bridge.
Success stories like Percy Tau and Lyle Foster prove that when teams overlook age and trust in ability, the rewards can be monumental. However, for every success story, Kaze believes there is an underlying factor that often leads to a “lost generation” of talent.
Kaze, who brings extensive experience from youth setups at different clubs and national teams—including his home country of Burundi and FC Barcelona Academy—believes the South African football ecosystem is often too generous with its accolades. To him, premature praise is a “gift” that many youngsters are not yet equipped to handle.
THE DANGER OF THE “SOCIAL MEDIA ARRIVAL”
“As I said before, my belief as I was in a youth setup before at various clubs and national teams, even back home in Burundi. I believe that sometimes here in South Africa, you give too much gift to young players,” Kaze observed.
Kaze’s concern centres on the psychological plateau that follows a sudden surge in popularity. In an era where a single highlight reel can go viral, the distinction between potential and proven performance is often blurred.
“They get too much praise while they haven’t done anything. One game, one good goal, one shibobo and the kid the next day has 30 pages on social media, and then he thinks that he has arrived.”
The history of Naturena is littered with academy prospects who were heralded as the future of the club, only to crack under the mounting pressures of hype. Over the years, players such as Given Thibedi, Keletso Sifama, Emanuel Letlotlo, and Sabelo Radebe were promoted with great fanfare, yet most saw their journeys in the gold and black end shortly after.
Radebe, once considered a talent destined for greatness, serves as a poignant example. After a loan spell at Richards Bay FC, he recently found himself without a club. These departures highlight Kaze’s view: talent gets a player into the first team, but temperament keeps them there.
“You have seen them, after [their promotion], the players, they do not repeat the performance, and after three, four, five years, the player has disappeared,” Kaze warned.
THE THULANI MABASO “PERSONALITY TEST”
In managing Thulani Mabaso, the 21-year-old DDC title-winning captain, Chiefs are adopting a “personality-first” approach. Despite Mabaso’s stellar pre-season with the seniors, the technical team made the deliberate move to send him back to the reserve ranks before his official debut.
Kaze revealed this was a calculated move to test the youngster’s ego and resilience—a way to ensure the mistakes of the past are not repeated.
“The thing is that we do not want to repeat those mistakes. Which is why a player like Thulani Mabaso was sent back to DDC after our pre-season. It was to see the personality that he has,” Kaze asserted.
The coach looked for specific behavioural cues during this period of demotion to determine if Mabaso possessed the mental fortitude required for a long-term career at a club of Chiefs’ magnitude.
“You go back there, you play with other young players. If the player gets frustrated thinking, ‘oh me I have played with the first team, why am I coming back here,’ then we see that the personality is not good.”
Mabaso passed the test. Instead of succumbing to frustration, the midfielder maintained his standards, eventually making his senior professional debut against Golden Arrows in January. For Kaze and the Amakhosi technical team, shielding talent from the “gift” of early fame is now the primary strategy for ensuring their stars of tomorrow don’t disappear today.
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