Former Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef has delivered a scathing assessment of Amakhosi’s current silverware prospects, bluntly declaring that the squad lacks what it takes to win titles while revealing what he told the club’s management.
Ben Youssef recently parted ways with Chiefs alongside Cédric Kaze, ending their stint as the co-coaching duo that led the club during the 2025/26 season.
The tandem was entrusted with the hot seat at Naturena after the club cut ties with head coach Nasreddine Nabi just a few months into the previous campaign. During their time at the helm, Kaze and Ben Youssef endured a rollercoaster ride characterised by inconsistent results, which included a heavy 3-0 defeat to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the Betway Premiership.
Despite the inconsistency, they managed to guide Chiefs to a third-place finish in the Premiership, behind champions Pirates and runners-up Mamelodi Sundowns. The duo—who initially arrived at Naturena two years ago as assistants to Nabi—steered Chiefs back into the top three after the club dramatically failed to finish in the top eight for two consecutive seasons.
Reflecting on his spell with the Soweto giants, Ben Youssef urged the club and its supporters to be realistic about their silverware ambitions, warning that Sundowns and Pirates have opened a “huge gap” on the Glamour Boys.
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“The problem with Kaizer Chiefs is between being realistic and ambitious,” Ben Youssef said on Metro FM’s Sports Night Amplified with Andile Ncube.
“We have the ambition to win everything, but we need to also be realistic. The squad that Kaizer Chiefs had during this season and last season, the maximum they can reach is the top four.
“If you compare the quality between Sundowns and Orlando [Pirates], the gap is huge because you will work and try to improve players, but there’s individual quality. It’s either you have it, or you don’t have it.
“I mean, when Sundowns had problems, and they needed a striker, they put money and immediately brought [Brayan] León, and after he played against Pirates, he scored two goals. And the best players in the PSL, you will find them at Orlando Pirates, and if you see now in [the] Bafana Bafana [2026 FIFA World Cup squad], it’s 30% and 40% Pirates and Sundowns [players]; the other 30% is other teams.”
“As Kaizer Chiefs, we only have one player [Bradley Cross] at Bafana sitting on the bench; he doesn’t play. I said to them [Chiefs management], the day you have five or six players in Bafana playing, starting games, know that you are ready to compete for trophies.”
Ben Youssef added “Winning the Nedbank Cup, the Carling Knockout Cup, or any cup is not something we can build on. Magesi FC won the Carling Cup a season before, and they have been relegated.
“For Chiefs, if you want to compete for the PSL title, you bring money and get six top players, then you can be ready to compete, or you continue bringing players that are not 100% ready to continue building, and after three years, maybe the team will be ready to win something.”
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