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Ernst Middendorp maintains that Kaizer Chiefs have an obligation to be regulars in CAF competitions, so Amakhosi will approach their game against ABC Motsepe League side Tornado FC today with a strong will to progress.
The Ke Yona Cup – as the R7 million league competition is known – is the passport to the CAF Confederation Cup, the second-tier continental club competition, from which Chiefs were eliminated last week.
“A brand like Kaizer Chiefs absolutely has the idea of not just playing at national level, but at international level. It is a target of Chiefs to return to CAF competition, and there is no doubt about that,” Middendorp told City Press this week.
“If it’s not possible to make it happen through the Nedbank success, the other option is to go through the league [by finishing third on the log].”
The German tactician has done some thorough homework by spying on Tornado ahead of their meeting at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London this afternoon.
This, in a way, was also to avert a potential mishap for Amakhosi, who have a reputation for losing to minnows in the competition.
This is something that Tornado coach Tshepo Motsoeneng said his side would draw inspiration from in their bid to emulate the likes of Baroka FC, FC Cape Town and AmaTuks – the lower league sides that have previously stunned Chiefs.
Referring to their fact-finding exercise on Tornado, Middendorp said: “We have recorded a game on our own and 80% of our obligation is to make it happen.
“We’ll send the right message to show that we take the match seriously,” he added.
Motsoeneng revealed that he saw Chiefs reserve team coach Arthur Zwane on a spying mission at their recent league game in Mdantsane.
“I have worked with Middendorp at Chippa United before and I know a little bit of how he thinks,” said Motsoeneng, a former Chippa goalkeeper-turned-assistant coach.
“But if there is anyone who should have better insight into our team, it is Arthur because he was also there when we participated in the ABC Motsepe League play-offs in Limpopo [last season].”
Motsoeneng is in his second spell with Tornado, after he left Chippa following the technical staff changes at the Port Elizabeth-based club last month.
The 39-year-old, however, warned that they have also gathered some useful intel on Amakhosi, including their illustrious opponents’ frailties in defence.
Middendorp could still be forced to reshuffle his rearguard to accommodate full back Ramahlwe Mphahlele due to the absence of Mario Booysen, who has joined the long list of the injured in the team.
What could also add spice to today’s game is the fact that Motsoeneng still has a bone to pick with Chiefs, dating back to his playing days as a goalkeeper for Santos FC, as it was his costly mistake in goal that gifted Amakhosi a ticket to the 2010 Telkom Knockout final.
“It was an honest mistake, but I was vilified for it in the media,” retorted Motsoeneng.
Now he is banking on a group of youngsters, some of whom have just completed matric, to cause a big upset in a fixture that has been called a clash between David and Goliath.
The Mdantsane-based outfit is placed second in their league stream, while Chiefs are fifth on the Absa Premiership log.
“Chiefs haven’t won a trophy in a long time, so they have everything to lose and we don’t,” Motsoeneng pointed out.
In their last appearance in the Nedbank Cup four seasons ago, Tornado lost to Orlando Pirates while under the guidance of former Bucs striker Jerry Sikhosana.
