Chiefs pressured to give supremo Kaizer Motaung perfect birthday gift

Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela will be under added pressure to give supremo Kaizer Motaung the perfect birthday gift with victories over fierce rivals Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates this week.

Amakhosi chairman celebrates his 73rd birthday on Monday and back to back league wins over Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Tuesday and Pirates at FNB Stadium on Saturday will be welcomed by the highly respected Motaung.

Sending his wishes on Monday morning‚ Chiefs and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune described Motaung as a humble person and a father figure to everybody at the club.

“The chairman is very humble‚” said Khune. “He is a real father figure to me‚ not only when it comes to soccer advice but also about life in general and his door is always open.”

Former Chiefs‚ Leeds United and Bafana Bafana defender Lucas Radebe said Motaung is one of the best leaders he has come across including people he worked with in England.

“He’s an amazing man with strong values and he treats everybody with respect‚” said Radebe.

“Kaizer is like a father figure for most players‚ especially for me and my teammates at the time which included youngsters like Doctor Khumalo‚ Gardner Seale and Ntsie Maphike.

"He was always approachable when players were looking for advice and he has imparted a lot of wisdom.”

Cyril Nzama‚ who captained Chiefs in the 2000s‚ said Motaung was always looking on ways to improve even when the team was doing well by wining trophies and always had solutions.

“The chairman would regularly call me to his office when I was the Chiefs captain and he would ask what is going well and where we should improve.

"He would always look at solutions to the various topics‚ listening carefully to my input‚ trying to find a solution to map the way forward‚” said Nzama.

Former Chiefs striker Marks Maponyane said Motaung is someone who is always willing to listen and a gentleman.

“I would often go with a few friends to watch Kaizer Chiefs play and we would walk from Meadowlands to Orlando after having saved money during the week to be able to buy a ticket.

"I was completely in awe when meeting Kaizer for the first time and he would never interfere with the coach’s decisions or otherwise‚” said Maponyane.