Former Kaizer Chiefs striker Kenny Niemach believes the prolonged FIFA international break may have given Amakhosi time to address their frailties and fight for trophies this 2026/27 season under the guidance of Fernando Da Cruz.
The Soweto giants last played competitive football on September 20 and return to action in a Betway Premiership tie against Stellenbosch FC at FNB Stadium on Tuesday night. That means they have been out of action for 22 days as they resume their season.
Just before the FIFA break, Chiefs drew 0-0 with Golden Arrows in a league match. They had also been held 1-1 by Polokwane City FC before visiting Arrows.
In the five league games prior to the break, Amakhosi won just once while sharing spoils four times. The draws accounted for eight points dropped and just four gained out of a possible 12.
That has seen log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns open a seven-point gap ahead of fourth-placed Chiefs, although the newly-crowned MTN8 kings have played a game more. Amakhosi’s draw also allowed Betway Premiership defending champions Orlando Pirates to go six points clear of their Soweto rivals.
Also knocked out of the MTN8 in the first round, Chiefs might have gone into the FIFA break with a lot to ponder.
FIFA BREAK AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FERNANDO DA CRUZ TO WORK ON PLAN B: NIEMACH
As Chiefs prepare to face Stellenbosch tonight at 19:30, the Cape Winelands side’s coach Gavin Hunt views the long FIFA break as disruptive. But Niemach sees the pause as a key for the Soweto giants’ coach, Da Cruz, to press the reset button.
While clubs like Sundowns and Pirates had several players active for Bafana Bafana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia during the FIFA break, most Chiefs players were at Naturena. However, Mfundo Vilakazi, Luke Baartman and Faiz Abrahams were with the South Africa national Under-23s for back-to-back international friendlies against Algeria.
“I think it could possibly work in their favour because it was an opportunity for the coach [to work on their frailties]. Not all Kaizer Chiefs players were on international duty; we must understand this,” Niemach told FARPost in an interview.
“So, I don’t think it will affect them that much. It could actually be to their advantage because it gave the coach an opportunity to work on his tactics and his approach to plan B when he comes back.
“Also to assess some players who are on the fringes, maybe who should now have an opportunity to come in and show exactly what they can do. So, this was a perfect time when a coach uses to work with players. Uses all the tools to take some risks in those friendly matches, which we don’t see. He uses this as an opportunity to see some things he couldn’t see. Take a risk in a friendly game situation, not a real match situation.
“Take that risk, and then you can say, ‘Okay, I have another option with this particular player whom I didn’t think quite fit there. Now I think I can play him there.’”
NIEMACH LIKENS FIFA BREAK TO PRE-SEASON
Pre-season is regarded as a critical period for clubs to prepare for a new term, and that is how Niemach views the three-week FIFA break.
“He could very well have treated this as pre-season. Some players come into form, some come out of form. Some come into fine fitness, some drop from fitness,” added Niemach, who also played for Sundowns.
“There is also fatigue. The fatigue I’m talking about is psychological fatigue. In other words, the level of concentration. A team like Kaizer Chiefs needs to have psychological control in a match for 90 minutes plus.
“When stats start to drop, once it comes down to maybe 75 minutes and you are 1-0 up, then concede, it means psychologically they are falling away from the game. These are the details coaches need to take and be cognisant of.”
RELATED STORY: Gavin Hunt concerned about long break ahead of Kaizer Chiefs clash
