MIHLALI BALEKA
Kaizer Chiefs’ captain Yusuf Maart says it’s an honour to be one of the leaders at the club and is confident that they’ll turn their fortunes around in the coming season.
Maart was already one of the captains last season, sharing the role with Keagan Dolly and veteran goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune. But with Dolly having left the club and Khune’s future still up in the air, it appears that Maart has taken sole charge of the role.
The 28-year-old is no stranger to being skipper, having also been the captain of Sekhukhune United before his move to the Glamour Boys two seasons ago. The captaincy role usually demands a player to lead by example on and off the pitch, and Maart has been one of the consistent players at the club since his arrival.
Last season alone, the Chiefs No 8 only missed seven league games due to injury, while he started all the other games in domestic football.
“As a player, we have 11 leaders on the field, but the captain’s armband was given to me,” said Maart, in a video clip that was posted on the club’s social media platforms.
“It’s a privilege given that this is the biggest team in South Africa. The last two to four seasons were tough, to be honest.”
The winds of change have been blowing through Chiefs with the arrival of coach Nasreddine Nabi, who’ll officially replace Molefi Ntseki. The Tunisian has hit the ground running, taking the team to Türkiye for a pre-season camp where they are expected to play friendlies.
Nabi’s first game on home soil will be in the Toyota Cup against his former team, Young Africans, at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein at the end of the month. While that game will give a snippet of his philosophy and playing style, the 58-year-old is expected to bring back the glory days at Chiefs next season.
After all, he’s used to winning trophies. He won back-to-back league titles and FA Cups with Yanga in Tanzania during his stint at the club. He was trophyless in his last gig at AS FAR in Morocco, but missed out on the league by a point, having finished as runners-up to ‘invincibles’ Raja Casablanca.
Casablanca also broke Nabi’s heart in the Throne Cup final.
Despite the unfortunate events in Morocco, Maart has confidence that Chiefs will win silverware this season, considering how well they’ve been preparing in Türkiye.
“I think it can be tougher and tougher, but this season it’s going to be a nice season, especially for me and the team,” Maart said.
“Our goal is to achieve what everyone wants. It’s quite different (during the pre-season) because it’s different people now and different technical team.
“Everyone has his own ideals and schedule for training and stuff. I find it quite interesting because it’s nice and tough, but we have fighters in our team and basically we’ll win something this season.”
Nevertheless, while Nabi has been instilling his philosophy on the club in Türkiye, there have been concerns about a growing injury list.
Edmilson Dove was the last player to go to the treatment room, the club confirming that he’ll leave camp and return to South Africa for medical attention. Dove joins Tebogo Potsane, Mduduzi Mdantsane, George Matlou and Dillan Solomons on the injury list. The quartet remained behind when the team left for camp.