Arthur Zwane has expressed his admiration for Vusumuzi Vilakazi as the duo assume their roles as joint first-team coaches with immediate effect.
Zwane highlighted their shared passion for football and their frequent discussions about the game, even before Zwane joined AmaZulu. He emphasized that Vilakazi’s expertise and support have made his transition to the club much smoother.
“I would say that I am obviously honoured to be here, working with coach Kanu. I think he’s the one who has already made my life easy because we are both students of the game, so we are discussing about the game all the time, even before my move to AmaZulu FC was confirmed. For me to come over here, it was just everything that one could be looking for as a coach.”
The ex-Kaizer Chiefs mentor also provided an assessment of the AmaZulu squad. While acknowledging that it’s still early days, he believes the team has the potential to be successful. He pointed out that they were unfortunate not to convert more chances in previous matches and that defensive solidity is an area they need to improve.
“I would say it’s too early to think about beefing up the squad. I think when you look at how AmaZulu were playing, they were just unfortunate that they were not converting their chances and also, they were a little bit erratic at the back that led to them conceding goals that they shouldn’t have.”
Looking ahead to Usuthu’s Carling Knockout Cup clash with defending champions Stellenbosch, Zwane has issued a challenge to his players. He emphasized the importance of taking each match step by step and expressed confidence in AmaZulu’s ability to compete against the best. Zwane acknowledged the quality of Chiefs’ players and their impressive performance in the recent final against Orlando Pirates.
“We will take it one game at a time. The focus right now is obviously on the cup of which we want to go to the next round. We look at what we have and also, how the opposition have been doing. Playing against a top team, there is no doubt about it. They have been doing very well, they were not in the final by mistake. It’s simply because they have been doing well. They have got quality players and you must have seen also how they exerted themselves against Orlando Pirates. They were just unfortunate to be on the losing side.”
Kick-off at the King Zwelithini Stadium is at 19:00 on Friday, 18 October 2024.
Written by Desh Parthab