Winning Nedbank Cup run can send Kaizer Chiefs into Africa

Khalil Ben Youssef says Kaizer Chiefs deserve to play continental football on a regular basis, and that’s why they are eager to win the Nedbank Cup this season.

Chiefs have had a tough start to the season. They missed out on the MTN8 and Carling Knockout, while they’ve been inconsistent in the Premiership.

Their run in the league has seen them fall behind in the league title race as they trail log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have two games in hand, by 12 points.

And with the title race looking to be between Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, the Amakhosi could only have an impressive season if they finish third on the log.

A third-place finish also guarantees continental football via the CAF Confederation Cup next season – a secondary competition to the coveted Champions League.

But given the fact that Chiefs are still finding themselves under the new technical team – which is led by Nasreddine Nabi – they cannot afford to put all their eggs in one basket.

Enter the Nedbank Cup, the country’s premier football competition. The champions of that tournament are guaranteed a spot in the Confederation Cup.

Speaking ahead of his team’s opening match in the competition against Free Agents at FNB Stadium on Sunday night (6pm kick-off), Ben Youssef stressed why they must do well in the cup.

“If you want to play in Africa, you have two choices: one, you must finish in the top three or win this cup,” the Chiefs assistant coach said yesterday.

“As a big team, we know that we should win every competition we play in, including the league. Hence, we will do our best to win the Nedbank Cup.”

Chiefs are not naive, thinking that it’s not important to win the main prize, the league.

However, Ben Youssef has opened up on the mandate they’ve set with their bosses.

“When we discussed with the board our project, they expected us to build the team, and then in two or three years, we’ll have to compete for the league,” Ben Youssef explained.

Chiefs will need to do bolster their squad if they are going to compete for the league crown against teams such as Sundowns.

They’ve been porous defensively, and blunt upfront. Goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma has only kept two clean sheets in the league this season and conceded four goals.

The team have heavily relied on youngsters for goals upfront, a factor that can come back to haunt them when the pressure gets too much.

Ben Youssef said they struggled to seamlessly adapt due to the complexity of the league, and some eventualities they couldn’t avoid.

At least they were victorious in their last match, a 1-0 win over Sekhukhune United last Sunday in Durban, where Mfundo Vilakazi grabbed an 86th-minute winner.

"We are looking forward to a competitive match this Sunday! We've put in the prep and know our opponents are ready too. Glory in this cup could lead us to participation in the continental competition, so we will give it our all,”- Coach Khalil Ben Youssef#NedbankCup #AlwaysHome pic.twitter.com/GPzxuRf6Ya

— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) January 23, 2025

“When you start any kind of project, there are a lot of issues inside. The first issue is that it’s a different league,” Ben Youssef said.

“For us, it was not tough, but we took a lot of time to understand the league. The second part is that there’ve been a lot of injuries. And most have been fractures.”

Injuries are part and parcel of football. But Ben Youssef added that they have different players who do not comprehend instructions the same way.

“Now we speak about the players, there are some players who are very smart. When we try to explain our modern football, you explain once or twice, and they get it from there,” he said.

“And then there are other players that you must repeat a lot of times when you are talking to them. They don’t have big backgrounds in tactics.

“So, we try to have individual meetings with them to explain. There are players who must have played in the developments, but there were no tactics at the time.” | Independent Media Sport