Once dubbed “the Cup Kings” of South African football, Kaizer Chiefs have been anything but in the recent season as they continue to endure their longest trophy-drought.
The club’s supporters, who had grown accustomed to their side lifting silverware just about every season, have had to accept a harsh reality of late.
Their once dominant club, who have won a record 54 domestic trophies, seem to have fallen someway behind the other so-called “big clubs” in recent seasons.
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They are in their eighth season since they last won a trophy. The last coach to deliver silverware at the club was Stuart Baxter.
The British tactician led Amakhosi to the Premiership title back in 2015 in his first stint in Naturena. That remains his most fruitful at the club.
KAIZER CHIEFS’ TROPHY DROUGHT CONTINUES
Since then, Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp and Gavin Hunt have tried to end the drought without any success.
Baxter himself also returned to the club in the hopes that he would help them regain their former glory. However, he too, could not end the troubling trophy drought.
The responsibility has now fallen squarely on the shoulders of Arthur “10111” Zwane to ensure that he ends the drought and puts smiles back on the faces of the club’s supporters.
Zwane, in his first full season in charge, will not win the league title as Mamelodi Sundowns have made sure of that by winning their sixth on the spin.
And having been dumped out of the MTN 8 earlier this season, Zwane’s Glamour Boys find themselves in last chance saloon in the Nedbank Cup, the only trophy they can win.
Their campaign in the Ke Yona Cup this season has left many of their supporters encouraged, having overcome their demons of getting booted out by less fancied teams in the past.
Chiefs have seen off Matitzburg United, Casric Stars and Royal AM on their way to the semi-finals. They were pitted against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the last four.
“I’d love to go all the way to the final and win it because that’s important for us,” Zwane said.
“The history of the club has always been about winning things, silverware, more especially for our supporters and the club. So, we take every game very seriously.”
NEDBANK CUP SEMIFINAL
The semi-finals are scheduled for the weekend of 6-7 May. The Soweto derby looks set to draw a 90,000-plus crowd to the FNB Stadium on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
Chiefs appear to have the edge over Pirates of late. They have done the double over their rivals in the league this season with back-to-back 1-0 wins.
Should their recent good form over Bucs continue, the Glamour Boys could be one step closer to ending their drought.
There’s optimism from Chiefs that this could be the season they finally put an end to their trophy struggles.
Amid their chase for the country’s premier club knockout competition, Chiefs are also chasing a second-placed finish in the league. That would guarantee them CAF Champions League football next season.