Mduduzi Shabalala, the attacking midfielder for Kaizer Chiefs, has conveyed a clear message of optimism regarding his side's impending campaign, drawing confidence from their recent pre-season experience in the Netherlands.
Amakhosi's European stint presented significant challenges, yielding a disappointing record of four losses and just one win.
Their tour commenced with a 2-1 defeat to Vitesse, followed by a substantial 4-0 thrashing from Utrecht. The struggles continued with a 1-0 loss against Nijmegen.
Yet, coach Nabi's squad displayed a moment of resilience, securing a vital 1-0 victory over PEC Zwolle, before concluding their overseas friendlies with a 2-1 defeat to FC Twente.
Shabalala is convinced that Chiefs have extracted crucial lessons from these European encounters, lessons he firmly believes they will apply to ensure a robust and solid campaign in the upcoming season.
‘OUR SEASON WILL BE VERY GOOD’
“From what I see, our season will be very good because the level of the teams we played with during our pre-season camp in Netherlands is very high,” Shabalala shared during his interview on UKhozi FM's Prime Time Sports with Victor Molefe. “You could see them, they play in big competitions like [UEFA] Europa League. They are in a better level than us but we learned a lot while there. We will be happy when our season goes well especially after the pre-season we had in Europe.”
Beyond the tactical and physical aspects, Shabalala highlighted the camp's role in team bonding. “Going to the Netherlands was also about getting to know each other as players and also welcome the new signings while preparing for the new season,” he further explained. Reflecting on the intensity, he noted, “But physically, it was very hard because we couldn’t find time to rest. We were playing games every now and then. The training was also intense a lot.”
