Muhsin Ertugral adamant 'Africa will be difficult' for Kaizer Chiefs 'who look like highway as they play everything at 200km/h'

Kaizer Chiefs brought in 11 new faces in their bid to deliver in the 2025/26 season, but had to make changes after just six Premier Soccer League matches as they parted ways with Nasreddine Nabi in favour of Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef, who are at the helm at least until the end of the season.

The Glamour Boys didn't do well in the Carling Knockout as they were eliminated by Stellenbosch in the first round. Both sides failed to cancel each other out in both regulation and extra time before Stellies won the shootout.

In the Premier Soccer league title race, Chiefs have played 13 games and won six, drawn as many, and lost once, which has seen them collect 24 points, four less than leaders Orlando Pirates, who have played 12 matches.

However, they have not started well in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage, where they began with a 2-1 loss against Al Masry in Group D before drawing 1-1 with Zamalek SC at home.

Former Amakhosi coach Muhsin Ertugral has conceded that the Soweto giants have improved in their defensive structure. However, he feels it will be a tough assignment for them to go all the way and conquer the continent in the CAF Confederation Cup.

“I see that the team’s defensive structure has become much better. But I have a problem with the team in a certain way, the entries in the third zone are not good enough to hurt teams," he told the Omni-Audio Africa podcast.

“They play everything at 200 km/h. I feel sometimes they look like the highway. They come so quickly, but the rest defence is not organised. 

"There are a lot of synergies that need to be better, but they are definitely better than last year. That you could see," Ertugral continued.

“They need to get together and find solutions to the challenge. Africa will be difficult, has to be organised for Chiefs to win something. I don’t think the team has the pedigree to win this international cup.

“But any forward steps bring the team together. The away game challenges in Africa are not easy. 

"The challenges will bring the team together and help them next season,” he concluded.

In her recent address to the fans, club's Marketing Director Jessica Motaung is happy that the team ended their decade-long trophy drought by winning the Nedbank Cup last season.

"Even though we reached a number of finals without ultimate success over the past decade, including the CAF Champions League in 2021, we finally made it over the line in winning the Nedbank Cup in May, a victory that brought joy to every corner of the country, from the streets to campuses, workplaces, and churches," she stated as quoted by Amakhosi media team.

This was a great gift to our supporters who have been with us throughout the journey of many years.

"We do believe there will be more silverware to come in the near future," the administrator added.

Despite collecting just two points in the group, Motaung is adamant Amakhosi can make the next phase of the annual competition.

"On the continental stage, the Nedbank Cup victory secured our return to CAF Interclub competitions, four years after our last campaign, when we reached the Champions League final against Al Ahly in 2021," she continued.

"We overcame opponents from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the preliminary stages to proudly take our place in the group stages, where we have already travelled to Egypt to face Al Masry and hosted their compatriots, Zamalek. 

"We remain determined to progress further when the campaign resumes after AFCON, with home and away fixtures against Zesco United from Zambia, before a return to Egypt to face Zamalek and a home game against Al Masry," Motaung concluded.

After the AFCON break, the Soweto giants have now released their immidiate calender regarding their forthcoming matches.

"Amakhosi will swiftly resume their 2025/26 campaign with a Betway Premiership clash against Lamontville Golden Arrows on Tuesday, 20 January at the FNB Stadium," they stated.

"On the continental stage, Chiefs will continue their CAF Confederation Cup journey, having played two matches late last year. Their campaign picks up on 25 January with an away fixture against Zesco United in Ndola, Zambia. The home fixture against Zesco will be hosted at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 1 February, followed by another home tie against Al Masry of Egypt at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on 8 February.

"All these fixtures are scheduled to kick off at 3 pm. The final group-stage encounter will see the Glamour Boys travel to Egypt to face Zamalek SC on 15 February," Chiefs concluded.