Zwane delighted with Radebe’s Bafana recognition but demands more

Radebe is having a great season, building on last season’s form. This season, he already leads the league with the most assists (five) in just nine matches. With Bafana head coach Pitso Mosimane facing injuries at right-back, with both Khuliso Mudau and Kamogelo Sebelebele out, Radebe will hope to make the final team when the squad is announced on Thursday. For Zwane, it doesn’t only end here for the 25-year-old from Highflats in the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.

"For him to obviously get the call up, it is a plus, it's a very good motivation for the player and actually he's been one of our consistent players but I still believe he can give us more because he's extremely talented," said Zwane

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"He needs to work harder because once you are noticed by the national team selectors, that means you have now gone closer to the level where everyone can see what you can offer the game but he needs to do better every time and trust me I am pushing him. I am not nursing his feelings because I know what he can give,  the club, what he can do for himself.

There's many other good players out there. He's got age on his side, when he gets the call up right now he'll compete with some of  the best players in the country that are in the national team so the ball is in his court, he's got our support and we'll always guide him to the right path."

Siphesihle Maduna is another who is at a peak stage with his form, after rejoining Usuthu from TS Galaxy when the season had just started. Maduna came through AmaZulu's development structures and was promoted to the senior team in 2018. But three years ago, he left the club and had stints at Cape Town Spurs and, most recently, TS Galaxy. He had a great season with the Mpumalanga-based club last season, playing 31 matches with a goal and three assists in all competitions, and has now featured in the last four matches with Usuthu, all of which they won. Zwane is happy with his contribution and still expects more from him.

Zwane also says the club has a methodology for how it has started this season. He’s the first coach in AmaZulu’s history to win six games in a row, and he could stretch that record this coming weekend when they travel to the Western Cape to meet Stellenbosch FC in the Carling Knockout quarterfinals. Part of this achievement, Zwane says, comes from the principles they have adopted around their squad.