Arthur Zwane opens up about his stint as Kaizer Chiefs head coach ahead of Orlando Pirates clash - 'The difficulties that I’ve endured, I don’t think other people would survive; my kids couldn’t cope at school because of what was happening'

AmaZulu head coach Arthur Zwane has opened up about the situation he faced with Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs.

The tactician recounted the moments when he was with the Soweto giants and said it was tough, and it also affected his family, especially the kids, who could not cope with it.

“You know, when I look at my coaching career and even when I was a player, it’s like a movie. I’m still watching the movie. Because, as a player, I’ve been through a lot, through the most,” Zwane said, as quoted by FARPost.

“I’ve experienced a lot of things that I think many other players, if they were in my shoes, wouldn’t come back. So, for some of us, our journeys are always going to be difficult."

Zwane recalled the events that defined his playing career as well as his coaching jobs and said all gave him difficult moments.

“And I take my journey as a football player and my coaching career the same; they are very similar. How I started at [Jomo] Cosmos, went overseas, and came back. I found myself in the second division, fighting for my career, to revive it again, the national team, and then Kaizer Chiefs. Then I had the longest career as a player that I must be proud of," Zwane stated.

"And then I see the same in my coaching career. The difficulties that I’ve endured, things that other people, I don’t think, would survive, like I’m trying right now from the situation that I’ve been dealing with with my kids that couldn’t cope at school because of everything that was happening where I was."

Does Zwane regret going through the same situation? He says he does not and counts it as a blessing in disguise.

“So, I see it as a blessing rather than being punished; I had to be in that situation in order for me to be where I am right now. And once more, I would like to thank the management of AmaZulu, the president [Sandile Zungu] in particular, for giving me a lifeline, giving me the opportunity to revive my career," he continued.

“And yeah, it’s all up to me now. It’s in my hands to take this to another level, not because I want to prove a point to other people. I’m not here to prove a point. I’m just doing my job. I chose to be a coach.”

Zwane was in charge at Naturena for the 2022-23 season, and he was later demoted and Molefi Ntseki was given the reins to coach the senior side.

He arrived at AmaZulu as a co-coach alongside Vusumuzi Vilakazi. Early this year, Vilakazi resigned, leaving Zwane as the only man in charge at the Durban-based club.

Zwane is set to continue as Usuthu head coach after his contract was renewed.

Meanwhile, both Chiefs and Usuthu are contesting for a top-eight finish. Whereas Amakhosi will need to win to boost their chance of breaking into the bracket, AmaZulu need a point to secure a ticket to the MTN8.

However, the sixth place is not entirely secure for Zwane's side, as a defeat to Pirates, coupled with results elsewhere on the final day, could see them drop out of the top eight.

The man nicknamed 10111 is set to lead his side for their final game in the league when they will take on Orlando Pirates on June 28.

Given that he did not win trophies at Amakhosi, his reign at Usuthu will be closely followed to see whether he can deliver at the club as opposed to during his time with Chiefs.