Chiefs embark on long road to glory

Chiefs embark on long road to glory

With the DStv Premiership in full swing, matchday one of the Premier League concluded, and the Italian Serie A getting underway this weekend, TAB soccer players are in for a feast, especially with some weekend pools boosted by carryovers.

By Mark Gleeson

Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday finally managed to secure a win when they beat Cape Town City – their first victory since late April.

It does take some pressure off coach Molefi Ntseki and injects some confidence in the team, which has a decidedly new look after the addition of all the pre-season reinforcements.

For the most, Chiefs looked to have shopped better in the transfer window than they have for years, with a strong defence, more midfield precision and pace, and some steel up front.

But now the hard slog begins for the club if they are to be contenders this season. They have a single point from their opening two matches of the DStv Premiership season and have a difficult away assignment on Sunday against TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium.

These fixtures, against teams they are expected to beat, have proven to be the real test of Chiefs’ acumen. Last season they lacked consistency and lost more league games than they won. Their 12 defeats were a record for the club, although they still managed to finish in fifth place.

Galaxy sold several key players in recent weeks and will probably struggle again this season but there are also many other candidates for potential relegation.

After successive losses, and having not beefed up their squad, Cape Town Spurs look to be a side in trouble as they go away to Polokwane City on Saturday.

The Limpopo club are also likely to struggle, as are Richards Bay, who have had an astonishing fall from grace.

They were in second place at the turn of the year in their debut top-flight season but have now gone 17 games without a win since their January 14 away success over Marumo Gallants. That is not the kind of form that will see them sustain their place among the best.

Chippa United, with their trigger-happy owner and regular turnover of coaches, have narrowly avoided relegation for several seasons now and could find that their time has expired. They are home to Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday.

Serie A gets underway this weekend as Napoli begin the defence of their title. They won the league last year playing a scintillating brand of football – and they were not alone with their brilliance.

Inter Milan reached the Champions League final, Roma got to the Europa League showpiece and Fiorentina to the Europa Conference League final.

Napoli ended a 33-year wait to claim their third Scudetto, becoming the fourth different champion in four years. But the departure of coaching mastermind Luciano Spalletti – and the underwhelming choice of Rudi Garcia as his successor – has cast doubt on their ability to launch a robust title defence.