Johannesburg — Khama Billiat will start his fifth season with Kaizer Chiefs this afternoon, equalling the same number of campaigns he spent at Mamelodi Sundowns.
But fulfilling as it may be that Billiat has spent a decade playing for two giants of South African football, his stint at Chiefs has been nightmarish.
Unlike at Sundowns – where he won seven major trophies, including the African crown – Billiat is yet to win a single trophy at Chiefs in four seasons.
It is not entirely his fault, though. Management got some of the coaches and player recruits wrong, while he’s battled with injuries.
But Chiefs’ head honchos have since realised their flaws, opting to start from scratch by appointing club legend Arthur Zwane as the new coach in May.
So with fresh air blowing through the club, Billiat is eager to inspire the team back to winning ways after a seven-year trophy drought.
After all, this could be Billiat’s last chance to save his career. He’s on the last season of his contract, while he’s retired from international football as well.
“I want to do better than I've ever done,” said Billiat, who's eager to churn out his best performances for the Glamour Boys this season.
Chiefs will start their new season with an away league trip to Royal AM at Chatsworth Stadium this afternoon, while Billiat is set to lead the line.
Although he has vowed that “I want to win something with the team, so I’ll keep on working hard individually", Billiat knows that he can’t do it alone.
“As a team, we also need everyone to realise that we need to get something at the end of the season. We are looking forward to that,” he said.
Amid Zimbabwe’s failure to qualify for the World Cup and Fifa’s ban on that country’s national team, Billiat retired from international football.
Although that must have been a tough decision to make, the 31-year-old forward now has ample time to focus on his club career with Amakhosi.
Chiefs have invested a lot of resources in ensuring that the team reclaim their glory days, signing new players and cutting off deadwood.
The new arrivals, such as Ashley Du Preez, 25, Dillan Solomons and Kamohelo Mahlatsi (both 23), are exciting, but importantly they are still coachable.
Billiat, who’s one of the seniors remaining after the departure of players such as Bernard Parker, is expected to help in the integration of the newbies.
“So now we (as the remaining seniors) find ourselves in a place where we have to give back what we learnt and make sure we do it better,” he added.
IOL Sport