Why Kaizer Chiefs insist on making potential signings trial at Naturena?

Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has defended the club’s policy of putting players through extensive trials before signing talent.

The club have asked potential signings to turn up to Naturena time and again, in some cases causing frustration for players.

Why Kaizer Chiefs insist on trials?

However, Zwane says that Kaizer Chiefs is no ordinary club and they need to properly assess whether a player will fit into their environment.

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Zwane says the days of Amakhosi not doing their due dilligence on players are in the past.

“In terms of the trialists, in the past we would just see a good player [and sign them]. But of late we are profiling players and I know people don’t understand this. And maybe if I explain it further they will understand why we came up with this idea,” Zwane said according to Times LIVE.

“We can’t just bring any player because Kaizer Chiefs is a beast and it is not just another team that you can play for and easily settle.

“We wanted to see a lot of things from the players.

Zwane adds: “We wanted to see if they can cope with our high-intensity sessions that are highly explosive and also to see how he settles when he is at the Village [Chiefs’ headquarters].

“We will ask them questions as to what they think.

He also said: “We want to bring players who will add value and who want to learn from us and we want to learn from them. Be it a foreigner or a local boy, they must come and add value.

“The player might be a star elsewhere but he might not be a Kaizer Chiefs player because of the pressure that comes with being part and parcel of Chiefs. That is why we have had players who maybe do well in the first season and in the second season they drop.”

Champions of the mind

Zwane says that it is vital that Kaizer Chiefs players are imbued with mental strength as well as physical gifts.

“Because of the demands, their performances might drop because a lot of people are saying a lot of things. They can’t take their game to another level, not because of ill-discipline or other things outside football but because they can’t deal with the pressure.

“We are just trying to test their mindset and see if they are able to cope with those things.”