Disappointed Cedric Kaze blames Kaizer Chiefs players after CAF Confederation Cup exit 'Amakhosi showed Zamalek too much respect'

Kaizer Chiefs headed to Egypt, top of their group and needing just a point to reach the quarter-finals of the Confederation Cup.

However, the former Nedbank Cup champions will return home heartbroken after their continental campaign came to an end after a 2-1 defeat to Zamalek.

Now, Chiefs' co-coach Cedric Kaze has blamed the players for not going into the Zamalek duel with the right attitude and mentality.

“First of all, I would like to say that it is a huge disappointment for us – we put a lot of time and effort into this competition. We tried not to concede those two goals. I am very disappointed with the loss, and we did not enter the match in good condition," Kaze said after the defeat in Ismailia.

"We showed too much respect to our opponent in the first half, and we could have scored, but in the end, we are out of the tournament, and this is frustrating for all of us. I didn't see a specific player from Zamalek as the star of the match... the team performed well as a collective team," he added.

"The fans of Zamalek Club were the motivation and strength for their team's victory today, and they are a source of strength."

Amakhosi legend Brian Baloyi placed the blame squarely on Kaze and his co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef.

“You know, for a while, this Chiefs team was able to stomach the pressure and go on and, you know, win the 1-nil, 1-nil. But at the end of the day... it’s going to be an opportunity missed," Baloyi explained.

“Kaizer Chiefs is a code 14, a big truck, and you can't take a code 14 truck and give a driver who has a code 8 to drive such a big truck," he added.

“As a driver, you know, you can watch a truck driver doing what he does, and you can also take the truck and move it, but you can’t drive it all the way from Durban to Cape Town. It’s impossible. And this is what’s happening.”

The elimination from the Confederation Cup followed a recent exit from the Nedbank Cup campaign.

Now, the Glamour Boys will only focus on the Premier Soccer League title race, where Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns are expected to offer stiff competition.