‘They need to continue working hard to continuously improve their game,’ said the Chiefs captain.
Kaizer Chiefs central defender Inacio Miguel has warned Amakhosi’s crop of talented young players that only hard work will ultimately see them succeed.
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Miguel is in the Netherlands with Chiefs for their pre-season camp, and captained the side in their 1-0 friendly win over PEC Zwolle on Tuesday.
Chiefs finally win
It was Chiefs’ first win of their pre-season tour, with 19 year-old striker Naledi Hlongwane getting the winning goal.
Defender Aden McCarthy, left back Kabelo Nkgwesa, and attacking midfielder Thulani Mabaso were other youngsters to feature in the game against Zwolle.
“Naledi has the quality to get far in the game of football. But this is just a start. Scoring has to be a habit of a striker,” Miguel told the Chiefs official website.
“We have a lot of very talented youngsters: Hlongwane, Mabaso, Nkgwesa, McCarthy… However, talent alone is not enough. They need to continue working hard to continuously improve their game.
“Making a mistake is not a problem. But you have to learn from it, to not make that mistake again. Otherwise, it will become a problem. Soccer is all about learning, day in, day out.”
While he was pleased with the victory over Zwolle, Miguel pointed out that results are not that important in pre-season.
“The victory was great. However, in pre-season the process comes first, it’s not so much about winning. In that process you build the Kaizer Chiefs idea.
“We have seen how our performances improved with each match we played. Meanwhile, we are looking for the foundation, which is needed to do well and be ready when the season starts – for the league, the cup competitions and the CAF Confederation Cup.
‘Incorporating the ideas of the coach’
“Pre-season is all about incorporating the ideas of the coach, the new players and then, of course, there are the tactical aspects. Last season, we struggled to get that combination right, even though the process was right.
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“Today, all these elements came to fruition, hence the great performance and the emphatic win!”
Chiefs will play the final match of their pre-season tour of the Netherlands on Wednesday when they take on FC Twente. Kick off is 7pm SA time.
