Kaizer Chiefs’ corporate logo. Image: Club media.
Manchester City analyst’s favourite European candidate for Kaizer Chiefs job!
A Spanish coach with close ties to Manchester City and Pep Guardiola has been named as Kaizer Chiefs’ top European candidate for the coaching job.
Kaizer Chiefs’ corporate logo. Image: Club media.
Kaizer Chiefs are pushing ahead with their plans to appoint a new coach ahead of the next season.
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Arthur Zwane was in charge at Chiefs last season before being replaced by Molefi Ntseki ahead of the current campaign.
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To the majority of the Chiefs fan base, Ntseki was already an unpopular appointment with no positive track record. Prior to taking over the first-team reigns, he had never coached a senior professional side. He did, however, coach Bafana Bafana after Stuart Baxter before being fired for failing to qualify for AFCON 2021. The duo reunited as part of a new structure at Amakhosi, which put him in charge of football development.
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Ntseki did not last long as Chiefs coach, however, being sacked before even the halfway mark of the season. This came after an unconvincing start to the campaign, which also saw them knocked out of two cups. After being relieved of his duties, the club appointed Johnson to take over on an interim basis. Coincidently, Cavin Johnson also came into the club in a developmental role before being asked to steady the senior ship.
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A run which saw Chiefs winning three of their last four games of 2024 saw Johnson in with a shout. But now, according to the latest, the club are back looking at other candidates. Despite the public denial, reports of Amakhosi pursuing Pitso Mosimane have not gone away. He is believed to be the club’s number-one candidate. Now, according to Soccer-Laduma, should they not land Mosimane, their top European target is Raul Caneda Perez.
Caneda leading European candidate for Chiefs
“They have shortlisted five coaches, and two are from Europe, and Caneda seems to be the favourite of the two European coaches right now. He has a very rich history and experience, which suits a coach who can take on the responsibility of changing the fortunes at Chiefs at the moment. The competition is tough among the five shortlisted, but from the two European options, he stands a better chance,” said one source.
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A second source went on to reveal why Caneda was a favourite for Chiefs.
Why he is the favourite
“All the other four shortlisted coaches are still contracted to other clubs though most of their contracts are expiring in June or at the end of their respective seasons, so Raul (Caneda) has the upper hand because his first priority would be Kaizer Chiefs (in negotiations).” Said the source.
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Caneda has been an assistant coach at Spanish La Liga sides Real Sociedad as well as Almeria. He has also coached at Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr. His last job was at UAE’s Khor Fakkan in 2020. He also works occasionally as an external analyst for Manchester City. Would he be a good candidate for Chiefs?
