'Muhsin Ertugral was ahead of the times, Kaizer Chiefs introduced pressure game before FC Barcelona' - Arthur Zwane waxes lyrical about his former coach

Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Arthur Zwane has detailed how he thinks Muhsin Ertugral revolutionised Amakhosi's brand of football during his time at the club.

The Turkman was first at Chiefs between 1999 and 2003 before returning to Naturena for another stint from 2007 to 2009.

Zwane feels the kind of football later adopted by La Liga giants Barcelona has long been introduced at Chiefs by Ertugral.

“The man was ahead of the times,” Zwane told iDiski Times. 

“He was preparing the team to the tee. On Monday you already knew how you would approach the weekend game. He would take you through a video session minute by minute and make you know of the opposition’s weaknesses and strengths and if you lost it would be from the mistakes he told you not to make.

“He was that type of a coach, more like a fortune teller. I think he was too tactical for SA players; he was at a different level," the former Amakhosi star added. 

“What we were doing, the pressure game, it was even before Barcelona introduced it. Before Barcelona started dominating, we were playing that game at Chiefs – setting pressing traps, combination plays, playing in small areas, coming out of tight situations at high speed, and doing synchronised movements, you knew when to go when your teammate was making a run. He was at a different level.”

Despite Ertugral being held in high regard by Zwane, he never guided Chiefs to Premier Soccer League honours during the two spells at the club.

Now at Cape Town City, it is a chance to claim the ultimate silverware in South African football.

Zwane, on the other hand, will be hoping to be inspired by Ertugral to a brand of football that could become a trademark play of AmaZulu

Cape Town City are a club known for being ambitious, and they are the kind of project Ertugral would need to help them become a dominant force in South African football.

However, City's exit from the Nedbank Cup puts a dent in Ertugral's tenure with the Citizens after starting impressively by beating Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.