Chiefs’ biggest asset is versatility

This week, with 3-0 wins over Highlands Park and Cape Town City, they have shown why they are in first position on the table.

It was so important that they dusted themselves off, especially last week against Highlands on the massive occasion of Chiefs’ 50th birthday. They gave a fantastic display against the Lions of the North, even without their so-called talisman Samir Nurkovic.

Leonardo Castro stepped up and that is what you need if you want to win championships, the goals can’t come from one person. Castro has come to the party and so have the Chiefs defenders, with Daniel Cardoso and Erick Mathoho also scoring. When you have a champion side, you have goals from all departments. Nurkovic has nine league goals already, and Castro has seven, those statistics show Chiefs are capable of winning the title.

Against Cape Town City, Amakhosi picked up where they left off against Highlands Park, they won convincingly. They are called predictable in some quarters but if you have a game plan even when you are predictable teams can’t handle you. They can set up for the long diagonal ball, or, as on Sunday, bring in the likes of Kgotso Moleko and Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya and overload one flank.

They are definitely not one-dimensional. The likes of George Maluleka and Lebo Manyama complete the puzzle. If you look at their deliveries from set plays, as we saw against City, it is immaculate.

With Orlando Pirates, who won well against Polokwane City on the weekend, their identity has remained the same, that was the question when Josef Zinnbauer came in, would they continue the philosophy we know from Pirates of playing good football? They were leaky at the back, so would Zinnbauer change it and play on the counter? But we quickly understood that he has a similar philosophy to what Pirates speak to, so it shows thought went into the hiring of Zinnbauer.

They wanted a coach who would continue their way of playing. We have seen a bit more careful, patient build up, they are taking better care of the ball, and individuals like Gabadinho Mhango are stepping up. With Mhango, I don’t think the coach has waved any magic wand, he is starting to score because he is playing as a false nine, he is closer to the goal and more dangerous, the hunger is there.

In the game against Bloemfontein Celtic last week, with the goal he scored he made a run from his own half. In the game against City he had a hattrick and could easily have scored five or six. He is just playing in a position that suits him.

There remains a problem for Pirates defensively, but the question is, which defenders do they buy? Thulani Hlatshwayo looks to be focused again at Wits, while Frederic Nsabiyumva springs to mind, he has been doing well at Chippa.

Other than that the department just needs to get better, as much as when you score, when you don’t leak goals it also breeds confidence. Solid defences have proved, and will conrinue to prove, that it is a key ingredient to win league titles.

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