Angola defender Inacio Miguel has rejected the pressure talk at Kaizer Chiefs, saying it is rather a privilege to play for Amakhosi than to feel the weight of representing the badge.
The Soweto giants have, over the years, struggled for trophies. The 2025 Nedbank Cup was their first piece of silverware in 10 years, and they finished last season empty-handed.
That exerts pressure on Chiefs, who last won the Betway Premiership at the end of the 2014/15 season. They are currently in a new season where they have already blown away the chance to win the MTN8 after being eliminated by Golden Arrows FC.
Left to play for this season are the Betway Premiership, Carling Knockout, Nedbank Cup and the CAF Confederation Cup. Amid all the expectations on them, especially from their demanding fans, Miguel insists he does not feel the pressure of playing for Amakhosi.
Coach Fernando da Cruz assumed the Amakhosi coaching reins before the start of this season and is pressed to guide the Soweto giants to silverware. The Soweto giants have so far won two league games and drawn the other in their three outings so far this season.
‘THE DAY I PLAY WITH PRESSURE, I WILL STOP PLAYING’: INACIO MIGUEL ON REPRESENTING KAIZER CHIEFS
Over the years, there has been stern scrutiny of Chiefs’ signings, with questions around whether they are good enough to represent such a big club and help deliver trophies. Naturally, that is expected to put pressure on Amakhosi players, but Miguel has dismissed it.
“It’s interesting that people talk about pressure; everybody talks about how playing for Kaizer Chiefs comes with pressure. There is no pressure. I always say to our young boys that there is no pressure,” Miguel told the media.
“Pressure is when you have to feed your family, but you can’t go out to work, or you don’t have a job, and you can’t feed your family. Pressure is when you have someone sick in the hospital, and you cannot do anything about it.
“I felt the pressure, I can tell you, when my grandmother was in the hospital in Portugal, and I was in Angola and could not do anything. That is an eight hours flight. That was real pressure.
“Now playing for Chiefs…is not pressure, it’s a privilege. Obviously, it comes with responsibility. I will change the word pressure for responsibility.
“I will play with privilege. The day that I will play with pressure, I will stop playing football because it doesn’t make sense. It’s everything that I have done all my life, so the day I start feeling pressure, for sure I am going to stop playing.”
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