KAIZER Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze, during a press conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre, ahead of the much anticipated Soweto derby on Saturday, in which he believes a win will buy him a month of happiness.
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
A Soweto Derby has a way of cutting through everything — form, excuses and long-term plans. For Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze, Saturday’s showdown carries consequences that stretch well beyond the 90 minutes.
Chiefs welcome Orlando Pirates to a sold-out FNB Stadium, with both sides licking wounds after recent defeats and eager to reset their seasons in the most unforgiving fixture on the calendar.
For Kaze, the stakes are personal. While he has been part of the technical staff in previous derbies, this will be his first taste of full responsibility on South Africa’s biggest stage.
Across the technical area will stand Abdeslam Ouaddou, a newcomer to the Soweto spectacle and another coach facing the harsh reality that history has rarely been kind to debutants in this fixture.
Chiefs’ build-up has been far from ideal. Amakhosi have suffered back-to-back defeats to Stellenbosch FC, while also bowing out of the Nedbank Cup and the CAF Confederation Cup. The pressure, both internal and external, is unmistakable.
Speaking ahead of the derby on Thursday, Kaze did not shy away from acknowledging what victory would mean — not just on the log, but in the stands.
“I would need to go back and do research and find out why many coaches haven’t won the Derby on debut,” Kaze said.
“The Derby is a spicy occasion and every time you come into the Derby, you want to do as much as you can because you know, in as much as we don’t want to say it but it buys you at least a month of happiness with the fans.”
It was a rare moment of candour that captured the emotional economy of the Soweto Derby. One result can soften criticism, restore belief and briefly quieten the noise that surrounds Naturena when results dip.
Kaze insisted, however, that sentiment alone will not win Saturday’s match.
“And that’s just the nature of the Derby. We just need to be honest but we as Kaizer Chiefs are going to give it everything we have to put up a good performance on Saturday because it’s the performance that’s gonna give us a positive result.”
For Chiefs, the derby offers a chance to redraw momentum. For Kaze, it represents an early examination of authority, belief and trust. In Soweto, victories do not solve everything — but they buy time. And sometimes, that is priceless.