Debutant Shabalala Tipped For Massive Chiefs Future

Kaizer Chiefs interim coach Arthur Zwane has tipped youngster Mduduzi Shabalala for a very bright future after making his debut for the club.

Shabalala stared for Chiefs’ DStv Diski Challenge team this season and his fine performances earned him a recent trial with Jupiler Proximus champions KVC Westerlo last month.

The teenager also recently visited Villarreal after being awarded a stint with the LaLiga side due to winning the U17 COSAFA Player of the Tournament in 2020.

His club have also rewarded his fine development at Naturena, with Zwane handing him his debut in the 2-2 draw against Swallows.

“It is also a challenge to the team that we should look ourselves, maybe how we should rope them in, like we’ve done with Mduduzi today. A lot of energy in him and he’s a future prospect,” Zwane said when asked by iDiski Times journalist Lorenz Kohler about the inclusion of Shabalala and other youth prospects into the first team.

“For me he’s one of the deadliest players as soon as he settles, but he settles so. But we have to guide him properly. I don’t think we’ve done it the way we should be doing it as a club to help these boys to settle.”

Zwane also explained that the club needs to do better overall to make sure they are getting the best out of their young players from the development ranks once they enter the first team squad.

“If we can look back when most of these players were promoted, maybe first three months, these boys did very well,” he stated.

“You can check Wiseman Meyiwa, his first game, he scored. Siya Ngezane, he scored. Let alone he scored, but also performed very well.

“That means we where doing something right. Njabulo Blom, the same thing when he made his first game, he played very well. Three months he was on top of his game. Then, it’s something that we still need to sit down and ask ourselves, what is wrong, why these boys when they get to the first team they do well for a certain moment and then all of a sudden they drop. 

“It’s either we’re not doing the right things in the first team or we not doing the right things in development. For the fact that when they get to the first team, they perform better. Maybe it was also that the first-team players were not pushing these boys enough to get to the level where we want them.”

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10111 added that things were different when he was still a player at the club and has urged the club to focus more on their culture when bringing in younger players or new faces.

“When I was playing, I remember vividly, when players were promoted to the first team, they were promoted to a star studded squad and we were also not begging anyone to play for this team, whether you are a youngster or a new player, we would lead by example, we’d tell you how things are done here,” he added.

“And I think this is what have been missing in the Kaizer Chiefs squad, leadership, which is something that we need to change when it comes to our culture. Because our culture talks to a lot of things, our culture talks to humility, our culture talks to winning culture, our culture talk to how you respect yourself and other people before you can think of making it big at Kaizer Chiefs, you have to keep your feet on the ground.

“So far what I’ve seen, ever since I’ve been part of the first team, we’ve lost that and which is something that we need to bring back with immediate effect, if we are to change things for the better for Kaizer Chiefs to start winning cups and challenge for cups.”

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