Kaizer Chiefs loss? How rivals have benefited after Amakhosi ditched ‘tactically astute’ man

Kaizer Chiefs opted against continuing with co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef after the conclusion of the 2025/26 Premier Soccer League season.

The duo had helped the Glamour Boys finish third on the PSL table which was the highest they had finished in six years. However, they failed to deliver in domestic competitions as anticipated, especially after the club had won the Nedbank Cup in the previous edition.

Durban City jumped on the opportunity to have Ben Youssef guide them in the continental competition as well as the South African top tier. In their debut season in the PSL, the Citizens won the Nedbank Cup to secure the CAF Confederation Cup ticket.

The club’s chairman, Farook Kadodia, has now explained the logic behind letting the tactician coach his team.

Ben Youssef knows about local football

“Basically, I said here is a coach that is tactically astute and basically he comes from a big background of analysis and he’s transferred that to his coaching qualification,” Kadodia said in his interview with Sports Night Amplified.

“And I think the important thing is that, yes, hard work in this game is important. And we basically judged the work that was done, what we believe his contribution was at Kaizer Chiefs, to qualify for this job.

“The fact that he’s a foreign coach, he worked two years in this country; he knows a bit about the local football.

“Coach Khalil knows exactly what the club achieved last season. He’s got to match that or in fact better it. There’s no pressure – give us a Cup in the cupboard and keep us in top 8. That’s the mandate,” he concluded.

Kaizer Chiefs have since appointed Fernando Da Cruz to lead them in the forthcoming new campaign.