Da Cruz justifies Kaizer Chiefs’ pre-season struggles: ‘Extreme heat affected us!’

Kaizer Chiefs are back home after pre-season in Europe in preparations for the 2026/27 Premier Soccer League campaign.

While abroad, the Glamour Boys started with a 1-1 draw against Scottish heavyweights Rangers FC before replicating the result against Al Kholood, who ply their trade in the Saudi Pro League.

Amakhosi ended their European tour with a 2-1 defeat to La Liga side Elche before returning home.

Coach Fernando Da Cruz, who was appointed as the man to take the club forward, has now explained why his team failed to register a win and the lessons they are bringing home.

Da Cruz explains the Amakhosi struggles

“The conditions at the training camp were very good despite the extreme heat, which affected us in playing three games in the short space of six days,” Da Cruz explained to the club’s media team.

“Nevertheless, we were competitive in these matches against high-level teams, which gave us valuable insights to learn from. The attitude and team spirit were excellent, and we have made good progress in our preparations.”

Chiefs SPorting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr then justified their choice for pre-season, “The idea of the camp in Spain was about taking the team away from home to experience a different environment with unfamiliar conditions, integrating the new technical team and also working on induction details for getting the team ready for the season,” said Motang Jr.

“Playing practice matches against opponents from various leagues around the world proved worthwhile in helping the team adapt to different styles of play and, with the help of our mental coach, who worked on the psychological aspects of the game and team-building exercises, we achieved all of our intended goals,” he concluded.