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Amakhosi has a solid technical team as Kaizer Motaung said, but the question is whether the team can emulate the Brazilians on the field.
Kaizer Chiefs is following in the footsteps of Mamelodi Sundowns among other PSL teams after forming a technical team made up of South African-born coaches.
Gavin Hunt was appointed head coach following the firing of Ernst Middendorp and his arrival was preceded by the appointments of Dillon Sheppard and Arthur Zwane as his assistants.
The last time the Chiefs had a South African-born coach in charge of the first team was between 2015 and 2018 when Steve Komphela succeeded Stuart Baxter.
But before Komphela, the last South African-born coach to hold the coaching position permanently at Amakhosi was Trott Moloto in 1994.
The only difference is that the Brazilians have two coaches as Pitso Mosimane’s assistants in Manqoba Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena.
Mngqithi is a head coach in his own right, while Mokwena had a brief stint in the hot seat with the Orlando Pirates and then Chippa United before returning to Chloorkop.
At Chiefs, the two assistants have not had the pleasure of coaching in the elite league, but they are experienced and know their football, which could benefit the club in the long run.
Still, the move by the Chiefs and many other teams that have gone in the same direction should be commended.
Everyone has seen the success the Brazilians have had with their three-man technical team in recent seasons, and the Chiefs are taking a similar approach with the intention of winning trophies and emulating the Brazilians.
However, it could be some time before the project that has been given to the trio can bear fruit, but at the end of the tunnel there is light that the South African coaches will one day dominate the technical benches at PSL.
As it stands, what the Chiefs’ coaching department needs to do is develop an understanding between themselves and the players in the same way that Mosimane did when he first joined the Sundowns in 2012.
But most of all, Hunt needs to identify the players he will depend on to be successful, while also gaining support from management in terms of game personnel.
What makes Hunt, Zwane and Sheppard a team with great potential to achieve more in their coaching careers is their understanding of local players and their faith in younger players who need advancement.
Hunt has already indicated that while playing good football is important, getting positive results is what will build the confidence among players to play with the fluidity necessary to wake up this sleeping giant of Naturena.
And the secret to succeeding in Chiefs lies in the understanding between the three: having the same vision, philosophy and respecting the roles of each one, as the country has seen it with Mosimane, Mngqithi and Mokwena in Sundowns.
Perhaps the reason the Pirates, who at one point tried a similar approach, were unsuccessful was that there was no proper communication between Milutin Sredojevic, Fadlu Davids and Mokwena about the direction the team was supposed to take.
At times, Mokwena seemed to be in charge of the team while Sredojevic was silent, and the message to the players was probably lost in the process, and this is what the Chiefs’ new coaching staff should try to avoid.
Zwane and Sheppard are more reserved, but their contribution will be immense, more so because the former understands the culture of the team, while the latter knows exactly what Hunt expects of his players from a tactical point of view.
Looking back at nearly two decades ago, this isn’t the first time the Chiefs will have a coach and two assistants.
For two seasons between 2003 and 2005, the late Ted Dumitru worked hand in hand with Donald Khuse and Doctor Khumalo and the trio won back-to-back league titles for the Glamor Boys.
