‘All players are fighting for a position in the first team. It’s a fiery, but healthy competition,’ said the Chiefs attacking midfielder.
Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala says there is a spirited battle going on for first team places in Amakhosi’s pre-season camp in the Netherlands.
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Chiefs arrived in the Netherlands on Friday and will play their first training match against Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem on Tuesday at Sportpark Driel.
Chiefs new signings on display?
The game will be streamed live on Chiefs’ YouTube channel. Kick off is 7pm SA time.
Some of Chiefs’ new signings could well be on display – Amakhosi have already signed defenders Paseka Mako, Thabiso Monyana and Nkanyiso Shinga, midfielders Ethan Chislett and Siphesihle Ndlovo, and striker Flavio Silva ahead of the new campaign.
“So far so good,” Shabalala told the Chiefs website.
“All players are fighting for a position in the first team. It’s a fiery, but healthy competition.
“With regard to the training matches in the Netherlands – we are here to learn. It’s not so much about the result. We want to take all these learning experiences with us back to South Africa.
“For sure, we will compete in our training matches, but more importantly, to get better as a team. That’s our objective.”
Shabalala had a mixed 2024/25 season with Chiefs. He had a fine start under Nasreddine Nabi but faded as the campaign wore on. Shabalala did, however, play a key role off the bench as Chiefs beat Pirates 2-1 to lift the Nedbank Cup on May 10.
‘We need to concentrate more on our finishing’
Chiefs ended up finishing in 10th place in the Betway Premiership, missing out for a second season in a row on a place in the MTN8.
“I started the season well,” added Shabalala.
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“But I didn’t finish on a high note. As a team, we learnt that we need to manage ourselves better and we need to concentrate more on our finishing. Doubtlessly, we definitely want to win more of our home games next season to be able to compete for top positions on the league table.”