Football
Former Kaizer Chiefs Goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo Offers Advice to Ranga Chivaviro on How to Deal with Fans
Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo shares insights and advice with Ranga Chivaviro on handling fan pressure and expectations at South Africa's biggest club.
Image Credits: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Kaizer Chiefs striker Ranga Chivaviro has been given some valuable advice by the club's legend Brilliant Khuzwayo on how to deal with fans after being booed by supporters.
Khuzwayo suffered a similar fate as a footballer when he was playing for Chiefs, and the South African football national team before hanging up his gloves in 2019 due to injury.
On the other hand, the 31-year-old Chivaviro has been subjected to boos since the start of the 2023/24 Premier Soccer League season.
The misfiring forward joined the Soweto giants in July 2023 following a splendid campaign with Marumo Gallants the season before—where he netted an impressive 17 goals in 30 games.
Joining Chiefs, the target man was poised to be a solution to Amakhosi's struggles in front of goal. However, in the 2023/24 season under then-coach Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson, who served on an interim basis at the later stage on the campaign, Chivaviro did not live up to expectations.
So far this season, the striker has shown signs of improvement under a new technical team led by Tunisian gaffer Nasreddine Nabi. The player has so far featured in all four opening games and scored three goals in all competitions.
Most recently, the South African-Zimbabwean striker was heckled by Chiefs supporters during the Amakhosi emphatic victory over SuperSport United at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium.
This was before the under-fire goal-poacher scored on the night. After scoring against Gavin Hunt's side, he went on to react in the direction of the club's supporters - expressing his angriness towards Amakhosi faithful.
Knowing the pedigree of the club
Khuzwayo, who once had to deal with the pressure from the same supporters, has urged Chivaviro to avoid responding to the booing if he is to improve his game.
The ex-Orlando Pirates goalkeeper has insisted that being familiar with the club's history and its descent could help Chivaviro become strong.
"When you look at the pedigree of Kaizer Chiefs, you know they are the best and the biggest club in South Africa. It's very, very important for players to understand the pedigree of the team that they are playing for,” Khuzwayo told SportsBoom.com.
He (Chivaviro) should know that he is playing for a big team and pressure will always be there, that you can't avoid. It's the way it is at Chiefs or Pirates.
Brilliant Khuzwayo
"So, mentally, he or all players should be ready to face the pressure and all those things because fans are fans. The most important thing is to understand that you are playing for Kaizer Chiefs."
"If you play for Chiefs or Orlando Pirates, all games are Cup finals because these teams want to prove the point that they are big teams. So, the player should not focus on responding to fans but keep doing his job."
Going hand to hand
The 34-year-old former goalie, who spent six years at the Naturena-based giants, has also shared what he thinks Chivaviro and other players should understand about supporters.
"When you make one mistake, you are a bad player and when you win the Man of the Match award, you are the best player in the world, that is how fans react to players," said the former AmaZulu player.
"It goes hand in hand, when you don't perform well, they will bash you and when you do your best, you become the best player, so you can't change supporters.”
Chivaviro will be looking to improve on his scoring capabilities when Chiefs face SuperSport United again, this time in a PSL encounter.
The match between Matsatsantsa and the Soweto giants is set for 17h30 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
A natural sersitile soccer player who had a dream of turning out for Kaizer Chiefs, but ended up being a sports journalist. I fell in love with writing about football during my university studies in 2018.