MIHLALI BALEKA
Young Africans coach Miguel Gamondi has promised that they’ll play attractive football when they meet Kaizer Chiefs in the Toyota Cup at the Toyota Stadium on Sunday.
Africans were in action in the inaugural pre-season Mpumalanga Premier’s International Cup last Saturday where they lost 2-1 to Bundesliga side FC Augsburg. Gamondi’s team were sluggish in the first half, but after making a host of changes in the second, they managed to put up a fight against the Germans.
However, it is in Bloemfontein where their true character will be tested as they’ll come up against a Chiefs side that was on tour in Türkiye. The game will see Chiefs’ new coach Nasreddine Nabi take charge of his first game on home soil against his former employers.
Nabi had an impressive stint with the Tanzanian giants – before joining AS FAR last season – winning two league titles and two FA Cups.
Gamondi, his successor at Yanga, says they won’t be fully ready to play the game, just like Chiefs, but has vowed that they’ll produce a spectacle.
“We have one more week to work, to be more fit and more tactically astute. But we won’t be 100% ready,” Gamondi said after their clash against Augsburg in Mbombela.
“I think Chiefs will be in the same position. As a coach, for me football is a show. We need to play football and entertain people who are watching the game. I think we’ll play a nice game against Chiefs on Sunday because we’ll be able to play attractive football.”
Young Africans unleashed their new signings such as Clatous Chama, Jean Baleke and Prince Dube against Augsburg. The standout player of the lot is Chama, who had a spell at cross-town rivals Simba SC before joining Yanga this season.
Gamondi is generally happy with the new signings but has warned that it will take some time for the new players to adapt to their system.
“I don’t like to talk about individuals,” Gamondi said. “But you know all the players are not fit, especially the new players like Chama, Baleke and Dube.
“It’s difficult. We have only been training for 10 days, and we had to play a game like that (against Augsburg). It’s normal they are not fit.
“They also still need to know more about our tactics, how we move and pass the ball between the lines. But generally I am satisfied.”
Gamondi will hope that the new players will finally help the team crack the CAF Champions League code this season. Last season, they crashed out in the quarter-final after losing to Mamelodi Sundowns on penalties after the two-legged contest ended in a goalless draw.
Gamondi knows, though, that they must be at their best from the onset if they are to dethrone Al Ahly of their title. And this includes producing a convincing performance against Burundian-based side Vital’O FC in the first preliminary round of the premier continental competition.
“It’s our goal to do well in the tournament. It won’t be easy because we must make sure that we qualify for the group stage as well,” Gamondi said.
“Our goal is to be stronger every year and try to advance after the group stage. I believe in Yanga and this group of players. We’ll try to do our best to put Yanga in a better position.”