MATSHELANE MAMABOLO
A KAIZER Chiefs legend has called on Kaizer Motaung to ‘come out of retirement’ and give his best to the club for at least two years and overhaul the management structure so Amakhosi can return to the good old glory days.
Brian Baloyi, a former goalkeeper of Chiefs, is among those who are hurt by the club’s recent failures that have seen them going an incredible nine years without winning a trophy. And while the club has hired a new coach in Nasreddine Nabi as well as signing a few new players, Baloyi is of the view that bigger changes have to happen if Chiefs are to rise from the ashes.
“I am hoping that the chairman, including his board, takes the lead because the kids (Motaung’s children) working at the club – all four of them, with all due respect – I don’t see the maturity in them ... ” – Brian Baloyi
“It is clear to see that he (Kaizer Motaung) has gotten less and less involved in the club and the results are there to see. And the only way to fix it is either he gets more involved or they need to appoint a proper leader.
“I think for me now when I look at the club, there’s a point where the club needs to go and appoint a CEO – more like a corporate bully who will come and change things and take Chiefs to the next level.”
Given the family structure at Chiefs, many no doubt foresee one of the Motaung kids taking over from their father when he retires or passes away. Baloyi sees things differently.
“Chiefs right now do not have that person within the club, and I’d say you even need to go outside football and do something different.
“You need someone who will come in and instil discipline, instil corporate governance. You don’t have that person right now in the club and within football. I don’t see anyone who can do that function.”
Baloyi says there are a number of legends who are scared to talk about the disappointing state of the club in recent years but he cares about Chiefs too much to remain silent.
“If you love the club, you will talk. I want them (Chiefs) to do better and they are not going to with us quiet, are they?
“And there are some legends of the club who are in leadership – be it in corporate, ministry and government who can help. But the problem is that they (Chiefs) still look at us as those young boys who played for the club and when we talk they are like, ‘Who are you?’ It is unfortunate that they look at us that way.
“If it is different, they never told us. As much as we would like to contribute and help the club return to its glory days, we are saying to them, do the right thing. Employ the right people in the right positions.”
And Baloyi is hoping that Motaung senior and his board will act accordingly.
“I am hoping that the chairman, including his board, takes the lead because the kids (Motaung’s children) working at the club – all four of them, with all due respect – I don’t see the maturity in them, in thinking and deciding on issues. To me, none of them has the mettle to really take the bull by the horns and take this club (forward).
“If we had to take a chance on any of them and say you are the chairman or the CEO, run it for a year, I am afraid there’s none that I can take a chance on. Unfortunately, the chairman has to get involved and if he had taken a back seat, this is the time for him to get involved.
“If he is thinking he needs to retire, he needs to give himself two years to put the energy into the club again to bring back the glory days to the club.”
To listen to the full interview on this steoy as well as other soccer discussions tune in to Matshelane Mamabolo’s online radio show Inside SA Soccer with Bra Jakes on OmniAudio.Africa