Chiefs star defends Da Cruz: He is a good coach
Rugby
Podcasts & Videos
The Club House
Win
–>
Kaizer Chiefs head coach Fernando Da Cruz and club captain Brandon Petersen. Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Home
Psl
Kaizer Chiefs
Chiefs star defends Da Cruz: He is a good coach
Oct 30, 2026 – 02:55 pm
By Siya Ndlela
Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen has come to the defence of head coach Fernando Da Cruz, following criticism over the club’s form.
“Beeza”, as he is commonly known, came to the defence of under-fire head coach Fernando Da Cruz as pressure continues to mount at Naturena.
The severe scrutiny from the Amakhosi faithful has intensified following a string of poor performances that saw the Soweto giants bundled out of two major cup competitions early in the season.
Speaking at a media briefing ahead of their highly anticipated next fixture, the Glamour Boys shot-stopper insisted that Da Cruz is a top-quality tactician who refuses to hide behind excuses.
Petersen emphasised that his mentor is a very good coach who takes full accountability for the team’s shortcomings while keeping an open line of communication with the entire dressing room.
“Noise is noise; if people want to speak, they’ll speak, and I think the noise also comes from the fact that people want results,” Petersen said.
“We all know that when you are at a team like Kaizer Chiefs, results are important, but another important thing is the journey, where we are and the type of football we want to play.
“There’s been a lot of improvement. I think the only thing that has been lacking is converting our chances. If you look at the games, we dropped points; if we’d converted our chances, we’d be telling a different story.
“So I think for us it’s important to know that the noise is there, but it’s important to focus on what we are doing, not being blinded by what’s going on around us.
“Like I have been saying, the game model of the coach in front of us is a phenomenal model, and I think the guys have adapted to it very well. For me, he [Da Cruz] is a very good coach, and he angles the team very well.
“It’s not easy at a team like Kaizer Chiefs because the demand is always there. I think credit has to go to him and his technical team. He’s handling the pressure well and not passing it on to us as players. He’s taking accountability by the chin and making sure that the environment is good for us.”
READ | Mfundo Vilakazi reveals Da Cruz’ message on showboating
Amakhosi will look to silence their critics and turn their fortunes around in their next official Betway Premiership match, which happens to be the monumental Soweto Derby.
Kaizer Chiefs are scheduled to battle arch-rivals Orlando Pirates on Saturday, 31 October 2026, at the FNB Stadium, with kick-off locked in for 15:30 SAST.
Adverts keep KickOff free to read. Your ad blocker stops them. Please allow adverts on kickoff.com. You can still read without allowing them.