Kaze ready for emotional Chiefs return
Sekhukhune United coach Cedric Kaze expects an emotional evening when his side faces Kaizer Chiefs on Wednesday.
The two teams meet at Soccer City in a Betway Premiership clash, with Kaze facing his former employers. Kaze was part of the Chiefs technical team last season alongside Khaled Ben Youssouf. The pair took charge after Nasreddine Nabi’s departure and helped Amakhosi finish third in the league. That was Chiefs’ best league finish in six seasons, despite Kaze and Ben Youssouf eventually leaving the club.
Kaze has since joined Sekhukhune and enjoyed an impressive start to his tenure. He guided Babina Noko to victory over Durban City in the Betway Premiership before overseeing their dramatic 4-3 MTN8 win against AmaZulu.
“It’s an emotional one coming on Wednesday, but we have to first recover well. I feel like Sunday’s game took a toll on the physicality of the players. But I’m pretty sure that on Wednesday we will be ready for the challenge,” he said.
The coach has already shown tactical flexibility, particularly through his use of inverted wide players. “Because every club knows everything about the other, everyone comes to games with plans, having watched you a lot of times. Therefore, we need you to be able to be flexible to surprise other teams. We need a team that can do different things at different times during the game,” he added.
Kaze was delighted with his players’ response during the seven-goal thriller against AmaZulu. “I have to commend my players. They had such a big attitude, such a big commitment in everything that they did. Even after conceding an early goal, we kept our minds very clear, we kept our intentions clear as well. It showed that I have players that are ready to fight, and against AmaZulu they showed what they are capable of. And I’m very happy for them, for the club, for the fans.”