Watching the World Cup was good for Kaizer Chiefs, says Zitha Kwinika
Image: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs had a strong preparation camp for the return of the DStv Premiership, defender Zitha Kwinika said ahead of the team's first match back against Lamontville Golden Arrows at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (3.30pm).
The former Stellenbosch FC centre back said even watching the World Cup in Qatar on TV was beneficial to the players as they absorbed the high-level football and latest tactical developments.
The Premiership returns from the domestic break for the World Cup with five matches on Friday, including a big clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates at Loftus Versfeld, and three more games on Saturday.
“I think sometimes switching off [can be beneficial],” Kwinika said.
“And us being home and still watching football [in the World Cup], we were also still working on it because it was the more technical part and seeing how other people are doing it on the bigger stage.
“Then we had a few days of coming back and pushing to make sure your fitness level doesn't drop, with some rehab and other things.”
Some teams travelled for camps during the break. Sundowns were in Polokwane, SuperSport United trained in Durban and TS Galaxy travelled to Turkey for friendly matches against Girensunspor, Sampdoria and German Bundesliga 2 team Dynamo Dresden.
Chiefs stayed at their world-class facility in Naturena where they hosted practice games against teams including Lesotho and Swallows FC.
“I think we showed [in the games] we're not too low, but the good thing about it is you can always get better,” Kwinika said.
“From the first game against Lesotho there's improvement from where we were and I think we're almost ready for the game [against Arrows]. But of course practice and official matches are two different things.”
Arrows, coached by ex-players Mabhuti Khenyeza and Vusumuzi Vilakazi, are in eighth place in the league with 16 points from 13 games.
“It's a good team. We've analysed their past few games. And any team playing against us it's always a big fight,” Kwinika said.
“We have planned a structure on how to approach the game and if we execute it properly I think we can have a good 31st.”
Chiefs are in fourth place with 21 points from 13 matches, seven points behind leaders Sundowns.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.