After guiding his AmaZulu FC side to a hard-fought 1-1 draw against his former club, Kaizer Chiefs, Usuthu head coach Arthur Zwane offered high praise for the Amakhosi’s significant improvement.
Zwane has a deep connection to the Chiefs’ youth system, having nurtured many of the current first-team players.
He was instrumental in the development of talents like Mduduzi Shabalala, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo (often called ‘Mshini’), Wandile Duba, Happy Mashiane, and Samkelo Zwane, all of whom he promoted to the senior squad.
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Reflecting on the match at FNB Stadium, Zwane noted the clear progress under the current technical team:
“To be quite honest Chiefs is playing well. What I saw today they’re playing well,” Zwane commented. “They have progressed I mean it’s always good to see some of the players like Mduduzi Shabalala and Mshini (Nkosingiphile Ngcobo playing). I think Mshini today showed his quality.”
Zwane sees these players as a crucial part of the club’s future success. “These are the product of Kaizer Chiefs and when they play at some point it’s going to benefit the team. Not only them but many other players that [are coming from development],” he added.
Validating His Past Work
Zwane briefly took charge of the senior team during the 2022/23 season before being moved back to the development side following Molefi Ntseki’s appointment as head coach. His comments after the draw served as a vindication of the work he oversaw in the youth ranks, suggesting the current strategic focus on homegrown talent was part of a long-term plan:
“This show people that time (during my coaching day at the club) there was a plan anyway, but this is football when things are not going well it’s all about results [hence I was released on my duties from the senior team].”
Despite his own turbulent time at the helm of the senior team, Zwane was gracious, concluding that the current technical team is “doing very well.”
The result was bittersweet for Chiefs, as the draw means the Soweto giants remain winless in their last three Betway Premiership fixtures and move into fifth position.
AmaZulu, however, enjoyed the point, jumping above Richards Bay into ninth place.