Chiefs, Pirates beef up their squads

Kaizer Chiefs have signed defenders Philani Zulu from Maritzburg United and Zimbabwean Teenage Hadebe from Chicken Inn.

The Glamour Boys finished a second season in a row with an embarrassingly bare trophy cabinet in May and team manager Bobby Motaung said yesterday they were trying to assemble a formidable squad for head coach Steve Komphela for the coming campaign.

Rivals Orlando Pirates signed midfielder Thamsanqa Sangweni from Chippa United.

Sangweni, 28, has signed a three-year contract and follows elder brother Siyabonga, a tough-as-teak defender who established himself as one of Pirates' defensive mainstays before injury forced him out of the game in April last year.

"I am very happy to have joined the club," Sangweni said.

"I look forward to making a positive contribution and help the team to bounce back to where we all know it belongs. I would like to thank the chairman (Chippa Mpengesi), the staff and the supporters of Chippa United for all they have done for me. I will be forever grateful." The Buccaneers will want to forget the recently ended season in a hurry after they finished outside of the top eight for the first time since the Premier Soccer League's inception in 1996.

As if that was not enough, the limping Bucs were handed a humiliating 4-1 thumping by regular tormentors Supersport United in the Nedbank Cup final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium last month. The younger Sangweni's arrival at Orlando Stadium is perhaps an attempt to remedy the ills of last season.

- TimesLIVE