Kaizer Chiefs' New Coach Under Fire from Legends
Fernando Da Cruz has barely had time to learn the routes to the training pitches at Kaizer Chiefs, yet the first real tackles he’s facing are coming from the club’s own legends.
The Frenchman’s early caution about the season ahead – questioning his squad’s depth, tactical variety and ability to juggle domestic ambitions with CAF Confederation Cup duty – has landed badly with at least one former Amakhosi forward. The slow churn of the transfer window has only sharpened the criticism.
“Already making excuses”
Fees Moloi, never one to sugar-coat an opinion, has gone straight for the new coach’s approach and, crucially, his tone.
Speaking to KickOff, Moloi drew a direct line between Da Cruz and former coach Nasreddine Nabi, accusing the newcomer of preparing the ground for failure rather than setting a platform for success.
“Da Cruz is already making excuses so that if he fails to improve the team, he would be able to say ‘I told you so’,” Moloi said. “Da Cruz is the same as Nabi. His statement reminds me of the Tunisian coach.
“It is his job to get the team ready. It seems he took the job blindly.”
For Moloi, this isn’t just about one interview or a throwaway line. It’s about the message a Kaizer Chiefs head coach sends the dressing room, the boardroom and the stands before a ball is even kicked.
Expectations don’t wait for rebuilds
At Chiefs, transition is a word, not a shield. The club’s identity is built on the expectation that every competition is there to be won, regardless of how new the coach is or how uneven the squad might look on paper.
Moloi’s stance is blunt: if a coach doesn’t believe he can make the current group competitive from the first whistle, he shouldn’t be sitting in that dugout.
The former striker questioned the entire logic of the appointment if the club and the coach are not aligned on what this squad can achieve right now.
“If Kaizer Chiefs are not ready to compete, then what is he doing here?” he asked. “He was brought in to prepare the team and make it competitive.
“This coach does not seem confident in himself.”
That word – confidence – cuts to the heart of the issue. At a club of Chiefs’ stature, uncertainty from the man in charge travels quickly. It seeps into the players’ belief, the supporters’ patience, and the board’s willingness to ride out difficult spells.
Boardroom questions, touchline answers
Moloi’s critique doesn’t stop at the technical area. It reaches up into the corridors of power at Naturena.
The veteran questions the professionalism of the process that brought Da Cruz to the club and whether there was genuine clarity in discussions between coach and management. If squad reinforcements were non-negotiable for him, Moloi argues, that should have been locked in before the ink dried on the contract.
Moloi believes the current noise suggests the opposite: a coach who may have walked into the role without fully grasping the squad’s limitations – or without securing guarantees that those limitations would be addressed.
“Why did he accept the job at a team that is not ready?” Moloi said. “He should have told management from the beginning that ‘For me to be able to make the team compete, you will have to strengthen here and there’.”
That leaves Chiefs’ hierarchy at a crossroads. Either they move decisively to arm Da Cruz with the players he believes he needs, or they hold the line and demand he finds solutions with what he has.
The new coach has talked about challenges. The old guard has demanded conviction. Somewhere between those two positions, Kaizer Chiefs’ season will be defined.
