The goalkeeping pecking order at Kaizer Chiefs is still to be established and this is a an unfamiliar place for Amakhosi faithful, writes Smiso Msomi.
Durban – Kaizer Chiefs are involved in one of the most highly anticipated refurbishment jobs in the DStv Premiership ahead of the new season as they seek to build a team that is to reclaim the glory of the past.
The Soweto giants find themselves in unfamiliar territory in having to chase down a now seemingly five-year gap between them and Mamelodi Sundowns, a gap they hope to close in the upcoming season.
It’s a strange and uncomfortable matter to the Amakhosi faithful is the club’s technical team’s inability to place and back one of Itumeleng Khune, Bruce Bvuma and Brandon Peterson as the club’s number one for more than six months.
One of the most integral components of every team that dominates for a substantial amount of time is establishing a solid number one that forms the foundation of anything the team seeks to build.
Itumeleng Khune, a 16-year servant of the club and once teammate of newly-appointed head coach Arthur Zwane, has had a turbulent last three years now being an unlucky victim of injuries before falling out of favour with previous coaches Gavin Hunt and Stuart Baxter.
The 35-year-old shot-stopper is arguably one of the greatest players to have donned the jersey of the Amakhosi and his experience is heavily unmatched in the Chiefs goalkeeper union.
The departure of goalkeeper coach Lee Baxter at the end of last season seemingly signalled Khune taking up the goalkeeper coaching gloves. However, it appears ‘Spider-kid’ remains confident in regaining his spot as the club’s go-to man in goals and will want to feature heavily in an all new look Chiefs.
Second fiddle to Khune for the longest time, Bvuma got his opportunity at the end of last season following a few mistakes from Peterson. The 27-year-old, and also graduate of the Chiefs academy, has played bit-part roles since his promotion to the first team.
He has had to watch the departure of Reyaad Pieterse to Sundowns and the arrival of Daniel Akpeyi but has never let his head down and continued to prove a worthy deputy whenever called upon.
If his performances last season are to go by, Zwane may have to start scratching his head as Bvuma seems as ready as ever to claim the famous number one spot of a club richly engraved in South African goalkeeping folklore.
The goalkeeping pecking order at Chiefs is still to be established and that is good news for someone like Peterson who opted for a year out of competitive football to join the Amakhosi during their transfer ban.
He made a total of 10 appearances last season and looked to be right at home before two successive mistakes relegated him back to the sidelines where he had been for a while playing deputy to the now departed Akpeyi.
The 27-year-old goalminder’s ability has never been in doubt since his time at Ajax Cape Town but now he will need to show the required temperament to displace both Khune and Bvuma for the number one spot.
