Asante Kotoko Coach Praises Kaizer Chiefs and South African Football
- Kaizer Chiefs earned praised from Asante Kotoko manager Abdul-Karim Zito after their clash in the Toyota Cup over the weekend
- The Premier Soccer League giants stumbled to a defeat on penalties against the Ghanaian side on Saturday
- Netizens shared their thoughts on the Ghanaian tactician's words about Kaizer Chiefs performance against his team on social media
Asante Kotoko manager Abdul-Karim Zito has hailed Kaizer Chiefs for they style of play during the Ghanaian side's victory over the Premier Soccer League giants.
The Ghanaian tactician led his team to victory against the Soweto giants on penalties after the match ended goalless in normal time.
The Glamour Boys were earlier criticised for failing to improve their performance from last season in their pre-season games but has now earned praises from a Ghanaian coach.
Source: Getty Images
Abdul-Karim Zito hails Kaizer Chiefs
Speaking to SABC Sport, the Asante Kotoko coach expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance, both in terms of result and tactics.
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“When it comes to winning, I’m happy with my boys. Tactically, I’m also satisfied. While I didn’t get everything I wanted from the new players, they did take on certain responsibilities well,” he said.
He admitted that the team wasn’t fully prepared but had a clear game plan tailored to their situation.
“I expected a close match, either a narrow win or a draw. We didn’t push forward too much, but defensively, we were ready. I didn’t need to match them because they were ahead of us in pre-season preparation and team cohesion.
“We hadn’t trained for three days, so we knew fatigue would be a factor. That’s why we chose to sit back. A good coach reads the opponent and adjusts the strategy to suit his team.”
Source: Getty Images
The former Dreams FC and Ghana U20 head coach also praised Kaizer Chiefs and South African football in general, highlighting their tactical maturity and modern playing style.
“I have to be honest, South Africans play like Europeans, unlike some other African countries. They don’t chase the game; they make you chase them. I’ve studied this, especially during my time in Europe and through my work in development.
Despite his team’s win, he acknowledged that Chiefs performed well.
“Chiefs didn’t play badly. Luck was just on our side this time. They weren’t lucky, and we were. But everyone wants a bit of luck. I’m very happy because tactically, we executed our plan and it worked.”
Reactions as Zito hails Kaizer Chiefs
Gumm_Zoro said:
"😅😂😅😂he wants to come back next year to defend the cup 😅😅😅"
HLABARINTO wrote:
"We scored 2 goals the entire preseason, last season we scored 25 goals in the league games. The Motaung family believes that the new tall guy is going to miraculously resolve this issue."
PantsiMelikhaya shared:
"Chiefs has improved in their game approach and players attitude, Nabi has to assist them to connect with Silva to score goals. Ngcobo was enjoying himself, Monyane was good, Shinga, McCarthy did well too."
thegoodchef2255 commented:
"If they play against sekhukhune united they will feel like they're playing with real madrid."
Classic_OG90 reacted:
"I belive we play different than Europeans, even in CWC it was difficult fot them to deal with Lorch or Downs. We just need to take our youth development to another level, of which I believe DDC is recently helping, we just need to push school fooball especially primary schools."
TaLuraCpt added:
"It says a lot about them, imagine saying this after playing the weakest team."
Kaizer Chiefs name new captain
Briefly News earlier reported that Kaizer Chiefs have confirmed their new captain ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The Glamour Boys lost Yusuf Maart in the summer to a European club and has named a new skipper to replace him.
Source: Briefly News
