Cedric Kaze takes charge as head coach of Kaizer Chiefs

CEDRIC KAZE has shed the translator role he played under Nasreddine Nabi and taken on the ‘head coach’ position at Kaizer Chiefs with much aplomb.  

Previously somewhat reticent as to being nearly anonymous, even when translating for the Tunisian who has since left Chiefs, the Burundian has come out of his shell to reveal a confident coach with plenty of experience.

His engagements with the media in recent weeks since he and Ben Yousef Khalil were given the go-ahead to lead Amakhosi until the end of the season has been fascinating.

For one, he is clearly not one to suffer fools easily and already a few members of the media corps have had proper push back from the man who once worked at the famed La Masia academy of the great Barcelona.

It is on the pitch, however, where Kaze has to convince he is the real deal and there’s no better way for him to do that than leading Chiefs into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup. They host the Democratic Republic of Congo’s AS Simba at the Dobsonville Stadium this afternoon for a second leg, preliminary tie that’s delicately balanced after the first leg in Lubumbashi ended goalless.

Kaze knows just what this tie means, not only for him but for a Chiefs outfit intent on shedding the underachiever tag they’ve won for ten decades before last season’s Nedbank Cup success bought them some respite.

He does not share the general view that there’s chaos at Naturena and that their profligacy in front of goal is a sign the club is nowhere near getting close to returning to their normal place at the top of the local game.

“I don’t know if it is panic, but maybe people are pessimistic by nature. But this team is in a better place than they were in the last two seasons at this time,” he said after rattling the statistics of Chiefs’ first nine league matches to show just why the grim outlook is misplaced “And on Sunday we are pretty sure we are going to do everything we can (to progress to the group stages) and we are gonna make it happen.”

That they have to is because Kaze understands the positive impact making the group phase will have on the club, not only the financial shot in the arm that goes with getting into the round robin phase of the continent’s secondary club competition.

“Everyone knows the history that the club has never been in the group stage of the Confed Cup in this new format,” he said during the pre-match media conference at the FNB Stadium on Friday “It’s very exciting (because) it could be history for the club and everyone understands that. It is very important as it can add more experience to the players; it can bring people together.

“Playing in different countries and different environments will create a bigger bond between the players. They will relate to the experience of living together in different circumstances and that makes the group of players grow and get confidence. That kind of experience and confidence between the players is more important than just making it and winning trophies.”

Speaking of different circumstances and environments, Chiefs are playing this afternoon’s match at a Dobsonville Stadium they’ve never used.

But Kaze is excitedly anticipating leading the team at the Soweto arena whose pitch he says is not any smaller than that of the FNB Stadium Chiefs use on the regular.

“The measurements are right. And when the crowd is closer to the field it gives more energy to the group. You feel the 12th man alive and that’s what we want for Sunday,” he said of the compact venue.