Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertugral has revealed how he was saddened by how goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was treated in his tough times by the club.
Khune is the longest serving member at Chiefs with almost two decades at the club but has hasn’t enjoyed a lot of game-time in recent seasons.
This season, he has played five matches in all competitions before dropping down the pecking order
Ertugral, who gave Khune his senior debut, spoke to iDiski Times Editor Rob Delport in the latest edition of the newspaper where he referred to the time when Khune was suspended for disciplinary reasons for months at the club.
The Turkish-born coach believes the 36-year-old deserved better treatment because of his status at Amakhosi, saying management should have protected him by keeping certain information in house instead of putting him on ice.
“It was sad for me to see. You don’t treat a player in that capacity [like that],” Ertugral told iDiski Times.
“In his most difficult times, he needs to have something to hold on to. And I couldn’t see that by Kaizer Chiefs. I mean, I can only say that now from the outside, I’m not involved, I don’t want to trigger negativity, but it could have helped him.
“It was a couple of years ago, the same story. And I’ve made it publicly, I remember that when I said publicly out, they should know there is only one Itu, there is no second Itu and there will never be a second Itu coming up in the next 50 years.
“So for Kaizer Chiefs at that time, if I was in charge, I’d always try to protect my players, and a couple of things don’t get out. You don’t need to put certain things out in the public. You [don’t] need to do that.”
Ertugral further gave examples of some other legendary players, who also had challenges when he was still at the club but were protected under his leadership.
“I mean, do you think that Jabu Pule was easy? Do you think that Doctor Khumalo was easy? Do you think Thabo Mooki was easy? Do you think that Arthur Zwane and Cyril Nzama were always easy? But they’re unbelievable artists, unbelievable,” he added.
You can read Ertugral’s full interview with Delport in edition 149 available when you SIGN up for our FREE iDiski Times WhatsApp channel.
