The 2022/23 DStv Premiership season is fast reaching its conclusion with the penultimate round of matches to be played on Saturday, 13 May. Image: @kaizerchiefs / Twitter
Kaizer Chiefs boss Arthur Zwane lavishes praise on his namesake
Kaizer Chiefs head coach is a huge fan of his namesake Samkelo. Just have a look at how he envisions the 21-year-old’s future with Amakhosi.
The 2022/23 DStv Premiership season is fast reaching its conclusion with the penultimate round of matches to be played on Saturday, 13 May. Image: @kaizerchiefs / Twitter
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Samkelo Zwane is going straight to the top for Amakhosi, according to his manager.
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On New Year’s Eve, Samkelo Zwane made his senior debut for Amakhosi and he enjoyed a stint in the side. Management preferred Siyethemba Sithebe’s experience when Chiefs needed to buckle don and get results. However, Samkelo is back in the side and recently produced a man of the match display against Stellenbosch.
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The future of the Kaizer Chiefs midfield?
Samkelo Zwane may not be a pure defensive midfielder in the ‘6’ role, but that doesn’t mean he can’t add those facets to his game. As the deepest-lying operator in the Amakhosi engine room, he will be a star. With the departure of Njabulo Blom to the MLS, opportunity knocks for Zwane to make that position his own.
The Glamour Boys have boasted some of the finest defensive midfielders in PSL history. The likes of Willard Katsande and Tinashe Nengomasha spring to mind. Zwane is a more elegant operator though, and if he can add the extra defensive nous to his game, he’ll be a complete player.
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Zwane on Zwane
“When I look at Samkelo, he is something else, for me – not because we developed him, as a club, but because he has a rare quality in him,” Zwane said at the PSL headquarters on Thursday.
“His technical ability and execution are second to none, and that will always make him a special player, we are lacking such players in South Africa that can be able to pin-point 40-meter passes and also be creative, take risks at the back to unlock oppositions.
“Most defensive midfielders [in South Africa] keep it simple, they don’t want to lose the ball in critical areas of the field where they can end up being punished.
“You will recall we ended up playing one of our former players, Njabulo Blom, who gave us stability and fighting in the middle to protect the back-four or the central area of the field – he did very well, unfortunately, he had to go for greener pastures.”
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21-year-old Zwane has stepped up to the plate
Samkelo wasn’t meant to get as many first team minutes as he has done this season. However, injuries to Cole Alexander and Phathutshedzo Nange have fast-tracked his development.
“We had to look at a model footballer than can make us tick, help the defence, and when it comes to that he’s still lacking in that aspect because it’s not him, but whenever he has the ball, the more we’re on the ball, meaning we defend less, he uses the ball wisely.
“He knows when to pass the ball and in which areas to pass it in order to hurt oppositions, and we also have someone like Cole who’s been injured, it’s only now he started training, we had Nange as well, injury-prone and personal life challenges, losing a family member.
“Most of our senior players weren’t available because of injuries and whenever you thought they were ready to come in and add value then one or two will be out for another two, three months, getting injured in practice matches, something we can’t control.
“Then it gave Samkelo the opportunity to shine, we’re grooming him, helping him to settle in because you don’t want to put [players] under pressure too early, but he’s in the thick of things now, he has to lead with the support of other senior players on the field and even those off the field support him [which is a positive] for us as a club.”
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Zwane has made nine appearances for the Glamour Boys this term. The Amakhosi youth product, and son of former Orlando Pirates star Eugene Zwane, should keep his place this weekend. Chiefs face Royal AM on Sunday in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals.
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