Chiefs at Sundowns level? Da Cruz responds
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Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz. (Photo: Gallo)
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Chiefs at Sundowns level? Da Cruz responds
Aug 18, 2026 – 08:15 am
By Clifton Mabasa
Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz has offered an honest assessment of his side following their latest Betway Premiership encounter with Mamelodi Sundowns.
Da Cruz arrived at Amakhosi at the start of the 2026/27 season, with the club making significant changes to the squad as they look to build a team capable of challenging for honours.
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The Glamour Boys have made a steady start to the campaign, winning two and drawing one of their opening three league matches, with their only defeat coming against Golden Arrows in the MTN8 quarter-finals.
Chiefs’ latest league clash was against Sundowns, with the two sides playing out a 1-1 draw at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The encounter gave Da Cruz a closer look at where his team currently stands and the areas that still require improvement.
“First of all, we set up this structure because we have injured players, so in two days, we needed to find a solution,” Da Cruz told the media.
“Second thing, like I have already said, if you let too much space to Sundowns, they can kill us. So we needed to control space in front of us, but also behind us.
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“But in this system, we prepare our team to be able to attack, but we were not very good in possession in the first half, but it was better in the second half.”
Da Cruz then highlighted the biggest difference between his team and Sundowns, pointing to the contrasting amount of time the two squads have spent playing together.
“The last thing, if we want to compare Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, we can’t compare because on one side we have Sundowns players who have been playing together for six or seven years,” he added.
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“And here we are at Kaizer Chiefs, we have been together for a month and a half. We are making a good start to the championship, but we still have a lot of work to do.
“We have to stay calm and quiet, we still have a lot of work to do step by step and work a lot more, especially in the offensive areas.”
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