Baloyi Warns Da Cruz: Bench Petersen For His Own Good
Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has warned coach Fernando Da Cruz that Brandon Petersen’s slump is becoming a problem the club cannot ignore.
Petersen has made a string of costly errors since the season started. The latest came on Saturday against Polokwane City, when the ball struck him and bounced into the net.
Baloyi says the situation is serious, but not unique — and that the fix starts with going back to basics.
“The situation Brandon is coming from is difficult, but it is a situation many players face,” said Baloyi on the Soccer Beat podcast. “When you find yourself in it, you have to go back to doing the simple things. And how the people closest to you, including the goalkeeper coach, support you is important so that your mental state can recover.”
He says the mistakes are no longer isolated.
“He has been making bad errors almost every game since the season started. Sometimes as a goalkeeper you make a mistake and it does not become a goal,” he explained.
Baloyi’s advice to Da Cruz is blunt: take him out of the firing line.
“I understand how difficult it is for a coach. I understand that this is his captain. Putting him aside is hard. But in my view, that is doing right by him, the players and the other goalkeepers. For him to revive himself, he needs to go back to the bench so that he gets angry at himself, then works on himself. He must come back hungry.”
Baloyi listed possible reasons for the drop, including missing the World Cup after a strong previous season.
“It could be that he was left out of the World Cup after seeing himself do well last season. A lot of things can have an impact on this poor form. If he is honest with himself, he also knows that he is not doing well.”
Leaving him in the team, Baloyi warned, could make it worse.
“What will damage Brandon is if the coach does not stop playing him. In his head he will tell himself that he is still the main man. It will not work to have a player thinking like that in the team.”