Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Benedict Vilakazi believes Fernando Da Cruz’s time as Kaizer Chiefs coach could be short-lived, arguing that the club’s struggles go beyond the technical team.
Vilakazi, popularly known as Tso, believes Amakhosi lack the quality of players needed to compete for major trophies and fears the club could once again turn to a foreign coach if Da Cruz is dismissed.
Speaking to iDiski Times, the former midfielder predicted that Chiefs would look overseas for another coach rather than appoint a local tactician.
“He will leave and again, they will still go overseas to get a new coach,” he said.
Vilakazi also questioned why Chiefs did not consider local coaches such as Rulani Mokwena and Pitso Mosimane when they were available, pointing to their achievements at Mamelodi Sundowns.
“I don’t think Kaizer Chiefs will consider a local coach. When Rulani Mokwena and Pitso Mosimane were unattached, that was a perfect opportunity for them to say, ‘If we want to bring back glory days, here are people who showed at Sundowns that they are winners’. It didn’t happen,” he said.
However, Vilakazi believes changing coaches alone will not solve Amakhosi’s problems, insisting that the club must improve the quality of players at its disposal.
He argued that even an elite coach would struggle to deliver results without the right squad, using a car analogy to illustrate his point.
“Even if they bring in the best coach like Jose Mourinho, you still driving the same car. You can’t beat a Maserati driving a Toyota Tazz. You can put Max Verstappen in a Tazz and I’ll drive a Mercedes and I’ll be faster than him; that’s how it is,” he said.
Kaizer Chiefs told to get quality players
Vilakazi added that the quality of the squad ultimately determines what a coach can achieve, regardless of their reputation or experience.
“So whoever you put in the team, with the same material, he won’t get results for Kaizer Chiefs,” he concluded.