Former Kaizer Chiefs captain Itumeleng Khune believes failing to replace influential players in the team contributed to the struggle to win silverware.
Amakhosi have gone nine years without winning any major title; the 37-year-old, who is currently a free agent, won seven trophies with Amakhosi including three Premier Soccer League crowns.
Coach Nasreddine Nabi was appointed at the start of the 2024/25 season to help the Soweto Giants go back to winning ways. Nevertheless, the legendary custodian has stated where he feels the Glamour Boys got it wrong.
I was left alone at Chiefs – Khune
“I think we just left some bolts to be loose in certain instances and those were the bolts that were happening off the field and they started affecting the team on the field,” he told SNL24.
“I remember with our generation of Morgan [Gould], we used to have senior players whom when things were not going well, were all captains on the field, but the only difference was Itu was wearing the armband, but we were all leaders and at some point, because as soon as [Willard] Katsande, [Bernard] Parker, [Siphiwe Tshabalala], Yeye [Reneilwe Letsholonyane] left, I was exposed to more or less being left alone because I was left with Tower [Eric Mathoho]; but Tower is not a talkative person, he's so quiet.
“But I was sharing a room with him, and I would always run things past him before I went to the rest of the guys. That has always been my leadership skill to say, let me involve everyone before I make the final decision and I think the more the guys started leaving from the generation of ‘vat alles’ [take everything] winning trophies, I think the new players who came in, I can't really say, they lost their hunger, but it's because they were never exposed to that.”
You can't tell me Chiefs can't win a trophy in a season
Khune insists the Soweto Giants are a big club and it is unthinkable to go all those years without silverware.
“The guys who were there in my time had the taste of winning and as soon as they moved to Chiefs, there was no need for us to motivate them to win, they were already players who have won silverware, and they knew how it felt,” he added.
“So unfortunately, the ones who came afterward didn't experience all of that and it was difficult for them to win. I think most of the time players were just on the field just to be counted that they are Chiefs players, but you don't want to spend 20 years in the club or even two years and not even win a single cup. And at that time, how many cups do we play for in a season? You can't tell me a club like Kaizer Chiefs can’t win a single cup every season.”
What is the solution? “I think what was missing was just like I said, to tighten that bolt so that there's a continuation from where we were used to winning things to where we were not winning. So I think there were a few things that needed to be tightened and those are all of the field matters that ended up affecting players on the field and being unable to get the desired outcomes,” he concluded.
This season, Chiefs realistic chance of ending their trophy drought is in the Nedbank Cup, but they still have an outside chance of challenging for PSL only if they get positive results consistently.
