Inclusion of Kaizer Chiefs duo in PSL Awards Gala questioned: 'We don't understand football'

Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Sergio Dos Santos has questioned the inclusion of Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef in the Premier Soccer League’s Coach of the Year nominees.

Others who made the list are Orlando Pirates tactician Abdeslam Ouaddou, who won the Premier Soccer League title, MTN8, and the Carling Knockout. Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso was included as well after steering Masandawana to the CAF Champions League triumph.

Miguel Cardoso, Mamelodi Sundowns. — Miguel Cardoso, Mamelodi Sundowns – Image: Sundowns

However, Kaze and Ben Youssef, who took over from Nasreddine Nabi as co-coaches, won nothing. They managed to help Amakhosi finish third in the PSL for the first time in six years.

Dos Santos sees no reason to have the duo on the list since he feels they don’t deserve it. He has further pointed out those he feels deserve to be considered for the individual prize in the South African top-tier event.

‘Maybe we don’t understand football’

“The reason Kaze and Youssef are nominees in the Coach of the Season category is probably because each category needs to have three nominees, and the judges wanted to fill the required number,” he told KickOff.

Orlando Pirates legends celebrate winning the Clash of Legends cup. Photo: The Voice BW

“They probably wanted to give them a chance. They didn’t compete for any cups, but their names are there. That’s amazing. I think the judges are just trying to be nice

“Youssef has now gone to Durban City FC, and Cedric Kaze has gone to Sekhukhune United. Maybe the judges thought they did a good job by Kaizer Chiefs’ standards since they took over from Nasredine Nabi. And if that is the case, maybe we don’t understand football, and the judges understand it more than we do. That’s for sure.”

Vote for Kaze and Ben Youssef on what grounds?

“Obviously, if I was part of the judging panel, I wouldn’t have voted for Kaze and Youssef. On what grounds would I vote for them? Look at Pitso Dladla; when he took over at Durban City, he did a very good job, didn’t he?

He took over the team when it was struggling and turned them into Nedbank Cup champions and qualified them for the CAF Champions Confederation Cup.

“But the ones from Chiefs? Most of last season, they would lose one game, then lose another again, draw the next, win the following one, and then lose again. And you want to make them coach of the season when there is no consistency? What is that?,” Dos Santos ended with a question.