AmaZulu co-coaches Arthur Zwane (left) and Vusumuzi Vilakazi have a massive Betway Premiership clash to prepare for when they face Kaizer Chiefs on Tuesday. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix
AmaZulu co-coach Vusumuzi ‘Kanu’ Vilakazi has revealed that he will let his counterpart Arthur Zwane take the lead when he faces his former club on Tuesday.
Usuthu will travel to FNB Stadium in search of back-to-back wins in the Betway Premiership to face a wounded Kaizer Chiefs still recovering after a taxing Soweto Derby loss.
Part of AmaZulu’s technical team is Zwane, who is one of Amakhosi’s favourite sons having spent over two decades at the Naturena-based club. The 51-year-old had a remarkable 24-year tenure at Chiefs, serving both as a player and coach.
🟡Nabi to face a cop 👮♂️ and a baker 👨🍳
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🟢 Tuesday: AmaZulu
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As a player, Zwane spent a decade with the team, from 2000 to 2010, making 252 appearances and helping the team win 12 major trophies.
He eventually became the head coach of Kaizer Chiefs in 2022. Although his tenure as head coach was relatively short-lived, he has had a hand in developing first-team regulars like Mduduzi Shabalala, Bruce Bvuma and the now European-based Siyabonga Ngezana.
‘10111’ departed his head of development role at the Glamour Boys in November to take over alongside Vilakazi at Usuthu and have revived the hopes of the KwaZulu Natal-based club.
Kanu opened up about the club’s plans to approach their match against Chiefs after guiding his team to a gruelling win over Supersport United on Saturday. He revealed how the delegation of duties would suit their preparations, similar to how they were able to plan and execute against Matsatsantsa.
“It’s an honest fact, he knows Kaizer Chiefs in and out, yes they’ve got a new coach right now but he still knows their weaknesses and we’re going to rely on (his knowledge of the team),” he said
“We’ll be there to back him up the same way we did against SuperSport because we felt I knew more about Gavin (Hunt) so he said I should take the lead on that one and deal with him.”
Encounters between these two teams have been unpredictable in recent seasons with two wins a piece and a draw in their last five clashes.
Usuthu were on the wrong end of a 3-1 loss to Chiefs in the first round and are eager to avenge that loss. Vilakazi revealed that his side would be looking to worsen Amakhosi’s blues after watching them brutally defeated at the death by their arch-rivals.
“I think we need to take advantage of the fact that they suffered (against Pirates),” he said.
“The recovery towards victory is not easy so we are coming with confidence, from a game that was very tough but we were able to be victorious and we believe that on that day, we can do wonders if we come out of our closet.
“It will give us a psychological edge even in preparation, we will emphasize the importance of capitalising from their previous loss while they’re still trying to fix their own issues.”