Kaizer Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane has addressed the excessive hype over young talents in the country after Mduduzi Shabalala was compared to club legend Thabo Mooki.
Shabalala bagged the assist for Siyabonga Ngezana’s goal which proved to be the difference in the 1-0 win over Richards Bay United.
Two wins in two, three-goal contributions this season in the debut campaign of the 19-year-old is a slim reason to smile for Zwane but should it continue, the hype is inevitable as Amakhosi look to latch onto something positive from an inconsistent campaign.
Shabalala has shown glimpses of what could be in the future as his meteoric rise in the Chiefs first-team provides the spark that Zwane so dearly needed – but with comparisons with ‘Tsiki-Tsiki’ – Zwane admits the hype needs to be tempered going forward.
“When it comes to that one it’s unfortunate, I spend maybe two to four hours a day with Mdu, you know, it depends who are the people who spend the most time with him,” Zwane said.
“Yes we share ideas with his father, he comes from a very good background, so they’re helping us. But the challenge is, it’s not only Mdu, these are the challenges most of our talented players are facing out there.
“The way we hype them up and we end up saying things we shouldn’t be saying, and as soon as they hear those things, sometimes they start thinking they have arrived.”
Zwane went on to add there’s internal systems in place to try and avoid off the field issues with the current squad, with a key focus on their emerging talent who will be exposed to a world not experienced before synonomous to what it means to be in the first-team of the Soweto giants.
“Luckily with us, we have a system that’s there to help these players,” he added.
“It’s a matter of a player now making a choice, with the system that team has we have psychologists, we sometimes go for diversity sessions where they discuss their individual problems, like any other person, doesn’t mean if you’re a coach or a soccer player you don’t have your own personal problems.
“So the team has played a huge role that when we come to work, we come to work in the right frame of mind, always positive and always willing and eager to perform, so everything boils down to one thing, you as a player – do you want it. If you want it you will go for it.”
