Katsande backs Kaze and Ben Youssef to steer Kaizer Chiefs’ ship

Kaizer Chiefs legend Willard Katsande has thrown his weight behind the club’s interim co-coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze, downplaying the duo’s lack of experience as head coaches.

Last Friday, Ben Youssef and Kaze were installed as interim coaches for the rest of the season after the club “mutually agreed to conclude their professional relationship” with head coach Nasreddine Nabi, who still had eight months left on his contract.

Ben Youssef and Kaze, who were roped in by Nabi, have previously never served as head coaches, albeit they have gained vast experience over the years working on the continent.

“Letting Ben Youssef and Kaze stay was a good idea because you can’t bring in a new coach now and compromise continuity. These guys were with the team during preseason, and they already know the league, so let’s support them,” Katsande told Sowetan.

“For me to say these guys [Ben Youssef and Kaze] lack experience is not on because they have been working in football for many years. Sometimes the word ‘experience’ is misused.

“You can’t say they don’t have experience as head coaches when they have worked as assistant coaches for ages. I don’t buy the notion that they lack experience.”

The 39-year-old retired defensive midfielder made more than 300 appearances for the Glamour Boys between 2011 and 2021 and was part of coach Stuart Baxter’s combination that won league and cup doubles in 2012–2013 and 2014–2015.

He used Arsenal incumbent coach Mikel Arteta as an example to make his point that sometimes experience is overrated.

“Look at what Arteta did — he went straight to be Arsenal’s coach from being an assistant at Man City [in 2019], so I don’t think you can say a person who has been around serving in different roles lacks experience of being a head coach.”

Amakhosi’s interim coaches had already overseen five matches in all competitions before the club and Nabi reached an agreement to part ways. The pair managed to win just one of those, beating Angolan side Kabuscorp 1-0 in the Caf Confederation Cup first preliminary round first leg at home to force penalties, which they won to advance to the second preliminary round. Chiefs lost the away leg 1-0, while they drew two league games in between that.

Chiefs’ penalty shootout defeat away to Stellenbosch in the first round of the Carling Knockout two weeks ago heaped more pressure on Ben Youssef and Kaze, with some calling for the club to also get rid of them and hire a new coach who would arrive with his backroom staff.

Getting rid of the pair, with the other two remaining technical team members who arrived with Nabi, goalkeeper coach Ilyes Mzoughi and Majdi Safi, would prove a costly exercise for Amakhosi, as their contracts only lapse at the end of the season.

Sowetan