Chiefs coach: We have so many more leaders than last season!

With Itumeleng Khune battling to reclaim his No.1 spot in the Chiefs team in recent times, there was some talk during the off-season that he should perhaps look at moving to another club, while there were other doubts over whether he would retain the club captaincy.

However, the 35-year-old has emphatically stated that he is happy at the club and won’t be looking to leave, while coach Arthur Zwane has confirmed Khune will still hold the primary leadership position.

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Yet, it’s also clear that Khune isn’t guaranteed a starting berth, although Zwane remains unconcerned after the manner in which the club has strengthened their leadership group.

“If you look carefully, the players we have brought in, maybe four or five of them have leadership skills,” Zwane told Ikwekwezi FM, as quoted by KickOff.com. “We did that on purpose, knowing those qualities will enable them to lead on the pitch.

“The group we had at Kaizer Chiefs last season didn’t have that many leaders. And all these years, Kaizer Chiefs were winning the league because of the leaders on the pitch. Yusuf Maart has those qualities, he was a captain at Sekhukhune United.

“After Yusuf Maart, you’ll find that Zitha Kwinika has the same qualities. Itu has always been part and parcel of the Kaizer Chiefs structure. That means he’s a player that will stay at the club until he decides to quit.

“He is going to lead these boys to help them settle, up until one of them takes over. We will have about seven leaders on the field this season. This is not only about Itu, Itu will only be a captain if he is in goals, if he is not playing somebody else is going to take over.”

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Khune remains the obvious choice to retain the Chiefs’ club captaincy considering he has been with Amakhosi for almost two decades.

“I will never entertain that I should leave the club. I will never go anywhere. I’m a ‘Khosi for Life’,” the 35-year-old said at the DStv Premiership’s 2022-23 preseason launch on Thursday.

“I’ve been given an opportunity from the development to the senior side. I’ve been given the responsibility of captaining the biggest club on the continent, so I wouldn’t be entertaining ideas that I would like to leave the club in the future.”

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Chiefs will get back into action Saturday, 6 August when they travel to play Royal AM away from home. 

You can check out a Chiefs season preview below:

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