{"id":14671,"date":"2025-07-08T17:06:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T15:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=14671"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:18:31","slug":"mduduzi-shabalala-driving-performance-in-kaizer-chiefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/mduduzi-shabalala-driving-performance-in-kaizer-chiefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Mduduzi Shabalala: Healthy Rivalry Driving Performance in Kaizer Chiefs Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Kaizer Chiefs have set up base in the Netherlands as part of their preparations for the 2025\/26 season. Having touched down on Friday, the Soweto giants are set to face Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in their first training match on Tuesday evening at Sportpark Driel. The game kicks off at 7pm South African time and will be streamed live on the club\u2019s official YouTube channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-fierce-but-friendly-competition-in-camp\">Fierce but Friendly Competition in Camp<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mduduzi Shabalala, speaking to the club\u2019s media team, highlighted the intense competition for places in the squad. With a number of new signings added to the mix, the battle for a starting berth has become increasingly fierce, but in a positive way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo far so good,\u201d said the young midfielder. \u201cEveryone is giving their all. It\u2019s fiery out there, but the competition remains healthy. We\u2019re pushing each other to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2057467595\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-new-arrivals-join-the-fray\">New Arrivals Join the Fray<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Several of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/can-kaizer-chiefs-new-signings-ignite-a-2025-26-season-revival\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amakhosi\u2019s late<\/a>st recruits are part of the Netherlands camp. The club has bolstered its squad with defenders Paseka Mako, Thabiso Monyana, and Nkanyiso Shinga; midfielders Ethan Chislett and Siphesihle Ndlovu; and Portuguese striker Flavio Silva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporters will likely get their first look at some of these players when Chiefs take on Vitesse, with Shabalala pointing out that these matches are more about development than results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not obsessed with the scoreline,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about learning and growing as a team. These games help us understand each other better and bring cohesion before the season kicks off back home.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-reflection-on-a-mixed-season\">Reflection on a Mixed Season<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2024\/25 campaign was a rollercoaster for Shabalala. He began brightly under coach Nasreddine Nabi but struggled to maintain consistency as the season progressed. Still, he played a crucial impact role in the team\u2019s 2-1 victory over Orlando Pirates in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/kaizer-chiefs-sink-pirates-2-1-to-win-2024-25-nedbank-cup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nedbank Cup final<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI started the season well,\u201d he reflected. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t end it the way I wanted. We also realised as a team that we need to improve our finishing and win more of our home games. That will be vital if we\u2019re serious about competing for the top spots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chiefs ended the season in a disappointing 10th position in the Betway Premiership, failing once again to secure a place in the MTN8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2486163818\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-eyes-set-on-a-strong-comeback\">Eyes Set on a Strong Comeback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With the club aiming for a turnaround in fortunes, Shabalala believes the spirit and intensity in the current camp could be key to changing the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something different about this pre-season. Everyone is hungry. The goal is to return stronger and more united.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>As Kaizer Chiefs prepare to enter a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/local-soccer\/shabalala-lauds-healthy-competition-chiefs-camp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> new era<\/a> under renewed leadership and fresh faces, it\u2019s clear that internal competition and hard lessons from last season are shaping their resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-sign-top-midfielder\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Orlando Pirates Beat Kaizer Chiefs to Sign Top Midfield Talent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kaizer Chiefs have set up base in the Netherlands as part of their preparations for the 2025\/26 season. Having touched down on Friday, the Soweto giants are set to face Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in their first training match on Tuesday evening at Sportpark Driel. The game kicks off at 7pm South African time and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":14674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Kaizer Chiefs have set up base in the Netherlands as part of their preparations for the 2025\/26 season. Having touched down on Friday, the Soweto giants are...","footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[288],"class_list":{"0":"post-14671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports-news","8":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14671"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14713,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14671\/revisions\/14713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}