Kaze unbothered by sceptics of his Kaizer Chiefs role

By Velile Mnyandu
22nd October 2025

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze remains unfazed by the doubtful reaction to his appointment and that of his colleague Khalil Ben Youssef to arguably the hottest coaching seat in South African club football.

Kaze and Ben Youssef were promoted to be joint head coaches a few weeks ago, after Chiefs parted ways with their head coach, Nasreddine Nabi, the man who brought them to the club as his assistants.

But there have been mixed feelings about these changes, which Kaze is not entertaining, given the disrespect African football coaches face compared to their European counterparts.

"You know that we started with a little bit of a disadvantage. If my name were maybe Lopez or Marco, it might've been a different story.

"I'm happy to have gone to places and worked at clubs that not many African coaches would've worked at before. We don't want to prove anything as African coaches, but we want to honour the confidence the club has placed in us."

READ: Tebogo Motlanthe quits SAFA amid leadership concerns

Kaze is not your average coach, he cut his teeth in coaching at the famous FC Barcelona’s La Masia academy, which produced the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and other current and former top internationals.

He’s also coached the Burundian national team and Tanzanian giants Yanga. He’s not bothered by the negative comments and says they are capable of delivering big results.

Chiefs will play their ninth Betway Premiership game of the season today and their seventh at home against Siwelele FC at FNB Stadium.

Despite their slow start to the season, which included a seven-game winless streak with seven losses, Lehlohonolo Seema’s team won their last league game 1-0 against Marumo Gallants in the Bloemfontein Derby.

Kaze says Siwelele have turned a corner.

Chiefs opened the season with three straight wins, including back-to-back victories at home, but in the last four matches, they have dropped valuable points, drawn three games, and lost one.

Their target is to make the Calabash a fortress this season, and Kaze looks at the brighter side of their start to the new season.

"I'm very positive about how we started the league, and how we have played at FNB Stadium.

"If you look at the log, we have played eight games and just lost one, and we have two games in hand. I think we are in a very good space, our style of play is clear to see, the lineups are consistent, and the performances are consistent, despite the fact that we must be more clinical upfront.

Chiefs have also been unlucky in the final third, missing sitters and penalties, but the availability of Nigerian striker Etiosa Ighodaro offers the technical team a striker who can solve their scoring woes.

Kaze also sees the 25-year-old as someone who can offer them something different upfront...