KAIZER Chiefs stars Itumeleng Khune and Willard Katsande have welcomed the arrival of their new Italian coach Giovanni Solinas.
The experienced Amakhosi players say the arrival of the former Free State Stars coach, who was unveiled by club chairman Kaizer Motaung on Friday, has boosted the team’s morale.
The Soweto giants successfully defended their Bokone Bophirima Maize Cup title in front of a near capacity crowd at the James Motlatsi Stadium on Saturday when they defeated Free State Stars 6-5 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 in regulation time.
Solinas, who stepped onto the pitch after the game with team manager Bobby Motaung, received the biggest cheer from jubilant fans who formed long queues to take selfies with him.
Solinas is expected to be in charge of his first competitive game on Saturday when Chiefs face Mamelodi Sundowns in the inaugural Shell Ultra Helix Cup at FNB Stadium (3.30pm).
Amakhosi caretaker coach Patrick Mabedi fielded two different teams in the semifinal and final. The Soweto giants beat ABC Motsepe outfit Buya Msuthu 2-0 in the semis with a squad made up of their MultiChoice Diski challenge team, with skipper Khune and Siphiwe Tshabalala as the only senior players.
The first team were then held to an entertaining draw by Ea Lla Koto and proceeded to hold their nerve to win the final following the shoot-out.
Khama Billiat, who has joined Amakhosi as a free agent from Sundowns, and former Baroka FC goalkeeper Virgil Vries made their debut in the final.
Khune admitted they were worried about the delay in appointing a coach.
He said: “It’s a fresh start, we are happy that we have a coach now. It was a worrying factor for the players in camp, as it was for fans. We were also in the dark – we didn’t know who the coach was until the official announcement. We had a two-week training camp with coach Mabedi and gave him all the respect he deserves.”
Solinas watched both games from the stands and must have been impressed with what he saw. The Italian coached Stars in 2015 and he was introduced to the Amakhosi family on Friday night.
Explained Khune: “We want to go back to winning trophies and he is the right man to lead us there. We will have our first training session with the new coach tomorrow (Monday) and he will prepare us for Sundowns.”
Added Katsande: “It was a good decision to bring in Solinas. I admire him. We are eager to work with him. His teams are balanced, exciting and play entertaining football. It’s a new dawn for us.”