Johannesburg — Just two games into his reign as Kaizer Chiefs coach and the team are already reaping the benefits of promoting Arthur Zwane from within the club’s structures.
Zwane, a club legend, has coached at every level at Chiefs from the Under-17s through to the Diski Challenge side and now the first team.
His intimate knowledge of the young players coming through the ranks such as 18-year-old Mduduzi Shabalala is proving to be invaluable, especially after the teenager became the third youngest Chiefs player to score on Tuesday against Maritzburg United.
The Amakhosi faithful have long been searching for a new hero to raise the club from their disappointing lows experienced in recent years, but Zwane issued a word of caution if they want to see Shabalala, who is in Grade 12, develop into a player of real substance.
“For Mduduzi, we know the mentality of these youngsters and what is happening where he comes from,” Zwane told reporters after Tuesday’s 3-0 win at FNB Stadium.
“Most of us, we were born and raised in Soweto. Not only in Soweto, but the mentality is that given praise too early makes these boys believe they have arrived.
“Luckily Mdu is a humble young man. We spent a lot of time with them (the youngsters) to make them aware of what is going on out there and they listen.
“I told him today that no matter if we are under pressure or we are leading, I am going to give you the opportunity. I told him 'I want to see you going out there to showcase your talent and expressing yourself', and he did very well.”
Overall, Zwane was impressed with the energy Shabalala and the rest of the Chiefs youngsters brought to the game on Tuesday.
“With the size of his body, he went in and he was pressing, he was energetic and that’s what we need from our youngsters,” Zwane said.
“Sometimes football is a funny game, I think in past games we played very well and we lost the game. And (against Maritzburg) we played in patches, but we were clinical in front of goals and it could have been more.
“But I’m so proud of mostly the youngsters, you know who came on and kept the very same tempo, they took the game to the opposition because we were already worried that we may drop the tempo at some point and allow them back into the game, and as their confidence grew they could score at any given time from dead-ball situations or open play.”
It is unlikely that Shabalala’s goal will earn the rookie a start in the high-profile clash against champions Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus on Saturday, with Zwane looking to slowly integrate him into the first-team squad with appearances off the bench throughout the season.
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