Kaizer Chiefs defender Siyabonga Ngezana has revealed how Arthur Zwane helped him to overcome some tough situations this season.
Earlier in the campaign, Ngezana experienced a tough match on match day three of the league against Mamelodi Sundowns.
His attempted back pass was half cooked and Gaston Sirino sprinted clear to score the first goal. The goal was the beginning of the end for Chiefs on the day as Downs ran rugged by winning 4-0 at Loftus Stadium.
However, after the match Zwane defended his defender and also did so again after another rather poor display in Amakhosi’s 2-0 DStv Premiership away loss to Cape Town City in round number five of the league in August.
Ngezana was caught in no-man’s-land for both City goals, scored by Darwin Gonzalez and Nathan Fasika, but Zwane backed his player publicly, saying with time the 24-year-old will convince Chiefs supporters that he’s the right man for the club.
Ngezana has now for the first time spoken about his Chiefs struggles and the backing of Zwane, saying the coach tells him making mistakes is part of the game.
“Everyone makes mistakes,” said Ngezana, who is a product of Chiefs, on RingaNathi.
“What I like about coach Zwane is that he tells me that football is the game of mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, it means you are not a human being.
“And that’s how you grow from mistakes, not to repeat the same mistakes that you did. And you are saying, you think you are done making mistakes, you are still going to make mistakes again.
“It’s life in general. I have overcome some situations through inspiration from the coach and the players.
“As players, as professionals, we are also human beings, so it is good when we make mistakes. Not everything will go smoothly in your life.”
He has since improved from his struggles, and was never really tested as Chiefs beat Orlando Pirates 1-0 in the Soweto Derby number 177 at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
