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Kaizer Chiefs took center stage when the Premier Soccer League announced the nominees for the 2019-20 PSL awards. Goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, defender Daniel Cardoso, midfielder Lebogang Manyama, forward Samir Nurković and former coach Ernst Middendorp are among the nominees for various awards.
Chiefs goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi is one of three nominees for the goalkeeper of the season award. He faces Denis Onyango of Mamelodi Sundowns and Ronwen Williams of SuperSport United. Speaking about his nomination, Akpeyi says: “First of all, I would like to thank God for giving me the strength to get through the season. I thank the entire club structure, the management, the goalkeeping coach, my fellow goalkeepers and the technical team for being patient with me and helping me get the best out of myself. At the beginning of last season, I never thought I would be nominated for an award like this. My only goal was to improve my game, but I’m glad that everything went well. For me this is very exciting. “
Defender Daniel Cardoso has been nominated for the Defender of the Season award. He started and finished the Chiefs’ 35 games in all competitions last season. Most importantly, he played every minute of the Chiefs’ 30 league games. He was pleased to have been nominated for the award alongside Rushine De Reuck of Maritzburg United and Motjeka Madisha of Mamelodi Sundowns.
“I want to thank all my teammates because I couldn’t have had a season without them,” says Cardoso. “I think I showed good consistency throughout the season. I needed to manage my game well and luckily I didn’t get injured. This means a lot to me and the hard work has paid off. Hopefully I can continue this season. I face two very good defenders, I hope that having contributed some goals will help me to give myself an advantage ”.
The last Chiefs outfield player to start and finish each league game was Tefu Mashamaite in 2014-15.
Another major player in Chiefs who was in the title race until the final day of the season in 2019-20 was Lebogang Manyama. He has been nominated for two awards, the midfielder of the season and the player player of the season. For Manyama, these nominations please him on a personal level. “I worked a lot last season and these nominations are a recognition of that hard work. He says. “It was difficult to lose the title on the last day, but if you work hard, your efforts will be recognized. We also work for the good of the team, so these individual awards are an added motivation for us to work harder. Overall, I am happy to be nominated for these awards. “
Manyama faces Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns for both awards, while in the race for the Player of the Season they are joined by Hlompho Kekana also of Sundowns and for the midfielder of the season they have Thabo Nodada of Cape Town as company.
The Chiefs’ fourth player nominated for an award is forward Samir Nurković, who faces Peter Shalulile, who was on the Highlands Park books last season, as well as Sundowns duo Themba Zwane and Gaston Sirino. The Serbian, who scored 13 league goals and contributed 7 assists in the league as well last season, was elated at his nomination. “Being nominated for such an award after my first season is a good achievement and something to build on in the future,” he says. “When I got to Chiefs, I saw that everything was at the highest level and as a result, I was able to do my best. The fans deserved the title last season and if I can win this award it will be for them. Winning this award will make me happy, I know I am up against good players who performed well last season for their teams. “
Former Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp has been nominated for coach of the season, where he will face competition from former Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane and Maritzburg United’s Eric Tinkler.
In addition to the four Chiefs players seeking individual awards, there are three other Chiefs players in the running for the season’s award goal. The 2019-20 PSL Awards will be held as a virtual ceremony on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
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