Cedric Kaze says Kaizer Chiefs’ Nedbank Cup title-holder status won’t make their defence ambitions any easier. Instead, it will require them to work hard from the start and secure much-needed results.
Chiefs will open their Nedbank Cup title defence when they visit Stellenbosch at the DHL Stadium on Wednesday night (7pm, kick-off). This is a game they will need to win at all costs to keep their title defence alive.
Ke Yona Seen As Path To Restoring Pride
Winning the Ke Yona and the Betway Premiership are two the ways the team can continue restoring pride this campaign after going 10 seasons without silverware before last season - a feat that defied their tag as the “Cup Kings of South African football”.
Speaking at the PSL offices in Parktown ahead of their visit to Stellenbosch, Kaze revealed why Chiefs will be the team to beat in the tournament this season.
“It’s a new season and a new tournament,” the Amakhosi co-coach stated. “It’s true that we are the defending champions, but we have to put all that aside and do the work from the beginning.
“Being defending champions is not going to make things easier. Instead, it will make things more difficult because everyone wants to beat the defending champions. But we know what’s at stake and that the expectations are very high.
“The pressure is there, despite being champions. At a club like Kaizer Chiefs, there is pressure, and that comes with the badge on a daily basis.”
Lessons From Previous Defeat To Stellenbosch
Chiefs arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday reminded that they had already lost to Stellenbosch in the opening game of a cup competition - the Carling Knockout - at the same stadium this season.
Kaze has vivid memories of that clash, as it came shortly after he and Khalil Ben Youssef were announced as co-coaches of the team for the remainder of the season, following the departure of Nasreddine Nabi.
The Burundian coach distanced the team from thoughts of revenge in the Mother City, insisting that at Chiefs they are expected to win every game.
“It’s true that Stellenbosch eliminated us in the Carling Knockout,” Kaze said. “That’s the beauty of knockout games. You can say we were the better team on the field - we controlled the whole game and created better opportunities to score - but we lost on penalties.
“That’s the beauty of the game. Even when you play low, you can still get big rewards. But there is no revenge in football; it’s just another game that we need to prepare for. We need to try to have a good performance and get good results.”
Respect For Hunt And Stellenbosch Challenge
Kaze and Ben Youssef will come up against Gavin Hunt in the dugout, with the Stellenbosch coach having arrived at the club eager to continue his pedigree in local football, having already won four league titles and multiple trophies.
“We are coming up against a very good team in Stellenbosch, and they have a new coach as well,” Kaze said. “He is a coach who has been in this league for many years and has great achievements and huge experience.
“He has shuffled the team a little bit. But we are Kaizer Chiefs. We want to go as far as possible in the tournament and defend our trophy. So we are going to go all in for that game and do everything possible to get the result.”
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