Kaizer Chiefs on a clear and direct Nedbank Cup mission against Orlando Pirates

FOR Kaizer Chiefs the mission is straightforward ahead of the 2025 Nedbank Cup final they are playing against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates - win the cup at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban and end the 10-year drought.

Playing against Pirates just adds to the size of the event in this match that will be taking place on Saturday afternoon at 3.30pm.

Despite enduring a poor season, what should give hope to the Amakhosi faithful, is that their technical team, reading from the statements made by assistant coach Cedric Kaze in Thursday’s press conference in Durban, they understand the mission clearly.

“It’s a final that we haven’t played for six years. We know how important it is for the club - the players and management but more especially for the fans,’ said Kaze, who is an assistant to Nasreddine Nabi.

“We know how many years the fans have waited for the trophy. All that comes with pressure but it is the good kind of pressure for us to make that kind of history happen. Everyone is working very hard to salvage the season.”

Even the fact that Saturday’s match comes at the back of losing to the same Pirates side in the league match just a week ago, does not seem to faze Kaze, or at least that is the message he conveyed.

“We know what we have to do on Saturday. We are playing the defending champions but the final is a final and we are preparing for that,” he said, before re-assuring that:

“It has to be a different Kaizer Chiefs (that goes onto the field on Saturday). There is a cup on the line and 90 minutes of play.

“It is true that a cup final match has that tendency of taking away the flavour of a ‘beautiful game’ because nobody wants to lose. 

“So we have to be efficient in both boxes - good defending and be able to score.” | Independent Media Sports