Kaizer Chiefs Season Review: Amakhosi endure cloudy campaign with a silver lining

The Glamour Boys began the season under new Tunisian head coach Nasreddine Nabi, having unveiled eight new signings including the marquee signing of former Mamelodi Sundowns star Gaston Sirino.

Amakhosi opened the 2024/25 Betway Premiership season with two victories away from home before their perfect start was halted by Mamelodi Sundowns in a 2-1 loss at FNB Stadium.

Chiefs responded to the loss with a resounding 4-0 victory to eliminate SuperSport United in their Carling Knockout Cup Round of 16 clash.

A 1-0 loss to Matsatsantsa in a league game a week later triggered a run of inconsistency for the Soweto giants, winning only one of their next six matches, including a 4-0 loss against Sundowns in their Carling Knockout quarter final.

That heavy defeat was the last fixture that Rwandan goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari would play for the rest of the season following some unconvincing performances, with Bruce Bvuma replacing him in goal.

Despite some convincing performances in the Nedbank Cup, the team failed to win consecutive league matches, causing them to fall further behind the title chasers.

In January, Amakhosi boosted their squad with the signings of midfielder Thabo Cele and DR Congo forward Glody Lilepo and striker Tashreeq Morris.

However, the team continued to struggle in the league, failing to convert chances in the final third, a trend which had seen striker Ranga Chivaviro being booed by supporters earlier in the season.

Injuries to first choice defensive pairing of Bafana Bafana's Rushwin Dortley and Angola's Inacio Miguel also contributed to an increase of errors in the backline, leading to 12 losses in the Betway Premiership.

Chiefs would only manage to win two more league matches in the 2024/25 season but continued to march on to claim the Nedbank Cup title, ending the club's infamous ten-year drought against arch-rivals Orlando Pirates.

A final attempt to claim a top eight spot did not bear fruit, as the Soweto giants failed to record a single victory in their last nine Betway Premiership season, ending the season in a disappointing 9th position.

The performances of Glody Lilepo, who top scored for the team despite only joining the club midway through the season and the visionary passing ability of Thabo Cele brought joy to the fans this past season.

The young trio of Mduduzi Shabalala, Mfundo Vilakazi and Wandile Duba also produced encouraging performances and will be expected to play important roles in the team for next season.

Amakhosi will look ahead into the 2025/26 season with optimism and will look to strengthen the side with quality signing ahead of their return to the CAF Confederation Cup.

Here are a few key stats from Amakhosi's season:

Key player                    - Gaston Sirino (10 goal contributions - 4 goals, 6 assists)
Top goal scorer          - Glody Lilepo (6 goals)
Most minutes              - Inacio Miguel (2474 minutes played)
Clean sheets               - 9 (Bruce Bvuma - 8, Brandon Petersen - 1)