CAF Confederation Cup: Chiefs’ Kwinika opens up about Miguel’s armband ‘respect’

Experienced Kaizer Chiefs defender Zitha Kwinika has lauded club captain Inacio Miguel for his influence and leadership skills.

On several occasions, the Angola international has been seen handing his defensive partner the armband despite being the main man. There have been questions about this by some fans and stakeholders regarding the 29-year-old's gesture. 

Kwinika has been in and out of the team, but has always delivered when given the opportunity by the technical team.

The 31-year-old has further opened up on the club's leadership model, insisting there is a selected group that helps with that.

It is about what Chiefs want to achieve

“I think it’s very important for me to say, I also have so much respect for Miguel and everyone else, it shows at this point in time it’s not about who is doing what, it’s about the team,” Kwinika stated to the media.

“Certain players get selected to be part of the leadership group, it’s not about the arm belt. How funny is it that when I’m with Miguel – he’s the one commanding more while I have the arm belt. So it shows it’s not about that, but about within the leadership the person has, and what we want to achieve.”

Kwinika further explained how Mduduzi Shabalala and Thabiso Monyane's inclusion in recent Bafana Bafana team affected others, “It was a big motivation, I’m happy for the boys; it shows that we’re trying to do something well and when the team is represented in the national team, it makes everyone happy.

“So it’s up to others to step up and hopefully get an opportunity to represent the country also,” he concluded.

Chiefs play Kabuscorp on Saturday in the first preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup.