Kaizer Chiefs legend Itumeleng Khune has explained why he thinks Orlando Pirates youngsters are flourishing while their Amakhosi counterparts are struggling.
Pirates pride themselves for having match winners in Relebohile Mofokeng and Mohau Nkota, both 20, as well as Mbekezeli Mbokazi, 19, among other young players, and they are among the first names on the team sheet.
The players have repaid coach Jose Riveiro’s faith with top performances consistently but the same cannot be said of Chiefs youngsters such as Mduduzi Shabalala, Wandile Duba, Samkelo Zwane among others and Khune has weighed in on the different situations at the two clubs.
Why are Pirates’ kids doing better?
“Remember coach Jose [Riveiro] has been with Pirates for three seasons and they have created that family bond with players,” Khune told iDiski Times.
“He has given them an opportunity; he’s been giving them regular game-time. Coach [Nasreddine] Nabi has now just arrived at the club and obviously is still trying to know the players better, find good combinations.”
The former Chiefs goalkeeper says Pirates’ youngsters have benefited a lot from having one coach for three years at the club while those at Chiefs are working under a new tactician who is yet to find his best team.
“There’s been a level of inconsistency of the youngsters at Kaizer Chiefs because of that reason that the coach is new and he wants to get the right combinations. Remember at the start of the season, you would see Mduduzi [Shabalala] playing regularly,” he added.
Khune feels Chiefs’ youngsters need time
“Kaizer Chiefs fans relied a lot on him, and he scored goals, important goals. [Mfundo] Vilakazi came on as a sub a lot of times just to close down the game. You had your Samkelo Zwane, so all players at Kaizer Chiefs, especially the young ones, they’ve been inconsistent because coach is trying different combinations.”
“But at Pirates three years later, we would think that all these players are consistent, yes, they’ve been consistent, why, because coach doesn’t chop and change,” Khune further said.
“He knows his starting 11, it’s standard and he just makes one or two changes, whereas at Chiefs, the new coach doesn’t get the results the next game he changes the entire team, trying different players in different positions, different combinations.”
Nabi is yet to get a tune out of his youngsters although Shabalala showed great form early in the season while Duba has been the go-to man in recent matches.
