Kaizer Chiefs could toy with the idea of deploying three at the back. It has several surprising spinoffs that could unlock their attack. Kaizer Chiefs are now blessed with central defenders With the arrivals of Rushwin Dortley and Inacio Miguel to supplement the existing options of Given Msimango and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe, new coach Nasreddine Nabi now has a slight defensive selection headache.
To accommodate all of his best defenders, he might need to switch to a new system. 3-4-1-2 for Amakhosi? Although Nabi is notoriously more of a 4-2-3-1 man, he might need to adapt Chiefs’ formation to suit their best personnel. After all, football is a fluid game and systems adapt all the time during matches depending on the game state.
With around R15 million spent on Dortley and Inacio, they’ll be expected to play many minutes in the first team. However, Ditlhokwe and Msimango are senior figures in the side despite only having one season at Naturena under their belts. Although rumours abound of a move to Russia for Msimango, Amakhosi will expect him to be at the club next term.
A 3-4-1-2, or 3-5-2 out of possession, requires a lot of discipline and running from the two central midfielders, so this could be a massive season for Sibongiseni Mthethwa who could form a cohesive partnership with the versatile Miguel. The Angolan was signed as a central defender but don’t be surprised to see him in the midfield if Nabi wants to get all his best defenders into the starting XI. What are the benefits in the final third? A system with three central defenders affords the manager the luxury of fielding two strikers and marauding full-backs.
It sounds good on paper but Chiefs aren’t exactly bursting at the seams with either of those two profiles. Ashley Du Preez, not an out-and-out striker, could operate alongside Chivaviro in this new system, as could new boy Gaston Sirino. The benefit of having a new manager is that the players will need to learn new systems and philosophies from scratch anyway , so there’s a blank canvas.
Big season for Ranga Things haven’t panned out as expected for the 31-year-old former Marumo Gallants marksman. His tally of four goals from 23 appearances for Amakhosi is a far cry from the 17 strikes in 29 matches across all competitions he notched for Gallants in the 2022-2023 campaign. Pre-season form has looked encouraging though, so he’s got a lifeline, and the first match of the new campaign is against his former employers.
No motivation will be needed on 14 September. Another poor season for him, however, and it’ll be tickets. Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or emailing info@thesouthafrican.
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Kaizer Chiefs finished the 2023-2024 league campaign in tenth position, their worst placing in the history of the DStv Premiership. Their last league title came back in 2015, their most recent piece of major silverware. They begin the new 2024-2025 Betway Premiership campaign away to Marumo Gallants on 14 September.
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