As management at Naturena prepares to execute a major technical overhaul, former Kaizer Chiefs captain and club icon Tefu Mashamaite has stepped forward to deliver a powerful defense of current co-coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze.
The tactical duo stepped into the high-pressure Amakhosi hot seat as interim co-coaches in September 2025 following the departure of Nasreddine Nabi. Despite inherited squad challenges, they successfully steered the Glamour Boys to a commendable 3rd-place finish in the Betway Premiership. However, widespread reports indicate that the Chiefs hierarchy has decided against renewing their contracts for the upcoming season—a move Mashamaite believes is a massive mistake rooted in unfair branding.
“Shackled by Past Labels”
Speaking exclusively to Soccerbeat, Mashamaite argued that Ben Youssef and Kaze have been unfairly judged based on their previous secondary roles under Nabi rather than their current tactical output on the pitch.
“I feel the two coaches have done really well, but their biggest disadvantage is that Kaze came in as Nabi’s translator; that’s the label attached to him. He is always going to be viewed that way. Ben Youssef was Nabi’s assistant, so the club and fans will always look at that.”
The legendary central defender stressed that if observers looked strictly at the footballing data over the last two months, the progress under the duo is undeniable.
“If you take away all these titles, they actually proved themselves and transformed the team. If you look at the spell they had over the past two months, and the kind of games they played against Pirates and Sundowns, I think Chiefs were getting somewhere.”
The Jose Riveiro Example: Structural Continuity Over Star Power
Mashamaite heavily criticized the broader culture within South African football, which constantly obsesses over marquee, expensive foreign managerial signings instead of trusting structural growth and stylistic identity.
To prove his point, the 2014/15 PSL Footballer of the Season pointed directly to the blueprints of arch-rivals Orlando Pirates:
“We are still living in a culture where we are always looking for a big man, a big name, to come and solve our problems. Look at Jose Riveiro. He came to Pirates as a no-name, but what he built there was formidable. I think right now they are on the verge of winning the title because of the foundation he laid.”
With Amakhosi gearing up for their final match of the season this weekend at home against Chippa United, the leadership faces a massive philosophical crossroads. Turning their backs on the stability built by Ben Youssef and Kaze could risk disrupting a squad that is finally showing glimpses of its former elite self.
