Kaizer Chiefs players came to training under the influence of alcohol - Cardoso

Ex-Bafana Bafana defender Daniel Cardoso has divulged that some of his former Kaizer Chiefs teammates came to training reeking of alcohol.

The 33-year-old was among the 10 players who were recently released by the Soweto giants at the end of the 2021-22 PSL season as the club looked to revamp its squad and build a team which can win trophies. 

During Cardoso's seven-year spell with Chiefs, the team failed to win major trophies and the versatile defender has explained that the team struggled due to the bad attitude of some of his teammates.

“I think the biggest downfall over the past seven years I was there… I have seen players brought in and let go within six months to a year [because they were not the right fit],” Cardoso told Marawa Sports Worldwide.

“Sometimes the quality of signings that come to Chiefs… you bring in players from the NFD (National First Division), you bring in free agents. I mean, they are passionate about playing but some players just want to earn a salary. 

“And you can see it on the field. You can see who wants to play and how some players just arrive at training reeking of alcohol because they don’t care. I believe that was the biggest effect [problem] we had at Chiefs in the years that I was there.” 

Cardoso, who had joined Chiefs from Free State Stars in 2015, went on to state that Amakhosi will stand a good chance of winning trophies again if they change their current recruitment policy and sign quality players.

“But I think the biggest impact is the signings, in terms of the downfall. I do hope that they fix it. They have the finances [for that] and they can become a great force. And I hope they do,” he said.

“It’s been seven years without a trophy and I hope it doesn’t carry on longer because the fans are getting impatient. If you go to the shops after a loss, you have to put your hat on and thank goodness for the facemasks.”