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POLOKWANE, SOUTH AFRICA – APRIL 23: Keagan Dolly of Kaizer Chiefs during the DStv Premiership match between Sekhukhune United and Kaizer Chiefs at Peter Mokaba Stadium on April 23, 2023 in Polokwane, South Africa. (Photo by Philip Maeta/Gallo Images)
Kaizer Chiefs’ lack of
marquee signings has sounded alarm in some quarters, but it’s not all doom and
gloom for head coach Nasreddine Nabi.
Chiefs have only officially signed goalkeeper
Fiacre Ntwari, Rushwin Dortley, Bongani Sam and Gaston Sirino in the current
transfer window.
The signing of Sirino may have brought some
excitement among the Khosi Nation, but at 33, it is hardly a marquee or quality addition that
would significantly influence the team.
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Amakhosi have in the past relied on star players
to carry the team and almost single-handedly influence the side to victories.
However, the lack of so-called star players
currently could work in Nabi’s favour, in rebuilding a team that can finally
accommodate special players once the core parts start to click.
In a recent interview with Soccer Laduma, Keagan Dolly revealed that he felt expectations were too
much on his shoulders to carry the team on the pitch, especially with reports
that he was the highest-paid player at the club.
Former Moroka Swallows midfielder Mark Haskins
believes special players like Dolly can only reach their full potential if they
are surrounded by quality players.
“It’s unfortunate that’s the circumstance
he [Dolly] found himself in. It speaks to why it’s important to have a quality
squad. It’s okay to buy quality players here and there, but football has
evolved to a point where one player can’t, on his own, effect the entire the
match. It’s always gonna come to what you do as a collective,” Haskins
said on Metro FM Sports.
“If you have a good squad, that allows your
special players to elevate their game and they make the difference in the end, and they can shine to the best of their abilities. It is needed in a collective
environment.
“You look at a player like Messi, everyone
says: ‘Ja, but he had all these superstars around him, that’s why he was able
to shine’. It played a massive role in why Messi was able to be what he was [at
Barcelona], because he had the Iniestas, the Xavis, the Busquets.
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“He had so much
quality around him [and that] allowed him to shine, because he didn’t need to
do much, he didn’t need to carry the entire team. It’s unfortunate that Keagan
says there was so much expected from him. That’s why it’s important to have a
great squad around [special] players,” Haskins added.
Nabi would still need to prove that he can
improve the squad and a focus on a collective, rather than individual
star players, could help the Soweto giants in a long run.
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