Nothing illustrates the dysfunctionality of the current coaching set-up at Kaizer Chiefs more than Fiacre Ntwari’s action last weekend, when he refused to be subbed off.
Ntwari’s defiance of the co-coaches’ instructions that he be replaced by fellow keeper Bruce Bvuma, when Chiefs’ Carling Knockout first round tie against Stellenbosch headed into penalties, painted a picture of anarchy in the dressing room.
Forget the fact that Bvuma is not necessarily a penalty specialist – you would struggle to recall when he actually last saved one, let alone dished out a heroic performance in the shoot-out – but Ntwari refusing to make way set a dangerous precedent.
Worryingly, it means the Rwanda No.1 was as perplexed as us at the decision of his bench to remove him. The score was 0-0 and while Stellies didn’t really test him throughout the 120 minutes, he backed himself to perform in the shoot-out. And he did, saving the first penalty and handing Chiefs an advantage, which they couldn’t take.
In fact, another curious sub, Tashreeq Morris, squandered what should have been Chiefs’ winning penalty. But tasking a player who was making his first appearance of the season with the difficult duty of kicking the last penalty, when he had just come on, again did not put Chiefs’ co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef in good light.
What was the strategy behind sending Morris in when he has seen little to no action all season, and has never celebrated a Chiefs goal since joining them in January? In the build up to Sunday’s match, a question was put to Kaze about Chiefs recent penalty failings – they missed penalties in league matches against Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu, which ended in costly 1-1 draws. Kaze responded by telling us penalties were a common feature at Chiefs’ training. “Even when we play a match which would not require penalties, we practice them every day,” he assured.
But the haphazardness and panic in the defeat to Stellies told another story. Ntwari should have known that Bvuma is good enough to replace him, or perhaps he has seen him fail to stop them even at training. He then decided to overrule his coaches. Talk about a dressing room completely out of sync!
As Ntwari got his way, it’s inevitable others are bound to follow. Why not, when Chiefs are taking so long to clarify the roles of Kaze and Ben Youssef? Are they permanent joint-coaches? What of Nasreddine Nabi, the head coach who last took charge on September 16? We have reported that he faces a disciplinary hearing over his qualifications, but nothing official has come from the club since they confirmed “ongoing discussions with the coach” on September 19. For a club who’s set the bar in terms of communication, supporters interaction, transparency and media accessibility, Chiefs have not handled this matter with their usual high professional standards.
This Fifa break should give them a chance to reflect – to be more forthcoming and finalise the Nabi matter. The current run of results – with one win in the last six matches – tells us Kaze and Ben Youssef are not swimming after being thrown into the deep end. They are sinking. Now worse, they probably have no control over the dressing room, as Ntwari showed us against Stellies. Chiefs need to sort out this mess, urgently.
Sowetan
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