Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siyethemba Sithebe doesn’t feel threatened by the arrival of fellow midfielder Edson Castillo from Venezuela.
“Castillo is a good guy. I visited him at the hotel and all those things. I won’t say now I have pressure or feel threatened. Sometimes competition is more important than anything in football because it makes you to work even harder. His arrival motivates me to pull up my socks,” Sithebe said during Chiefs’ jersey launch ceremony at The Galleria Conference and Events Venue in Eastgate last week.
Castillo joined Chiefs from his native Venezuelan side Monagas early this month. Amakhosi coach Molefi Ntseki couldn’t stop raving about Castillo after their 1-0 defeat to Botswana side Township Rollers in Gaborone at the weekend.
“I think that’s the player we needed to have on the pitch. As I said, we played him for 70 minutes in Tanzania [when they also lost 1-0 to Young Africans in another pre-season friendly the previous weekend]. So, today [on Saturday], the plan was for him to play 45 minutes and give others a chance,” Ntseki told SuperSport TV after the game.
“I think he [Castillo] is a revelation in terms of our tactical play, in terms of his intelligence in possession and also how he’s helping us out of possession. He’ll be giving us more balance in the midfield going forward.”
Despite the defeat, Ntseki maintained they were on the right track, underlining that they should avoid giving away goals like they did against Rollers. Amakhosi will get their league campaign underway by hosting Chippa United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
“In terms of playing minutes preparing for the first game, I think we’re on the right track. If you look at the first half and the first group of players who played, it was more of getting more playing minutes,” Ntseki said.
“I think the first thing is you don’t give away goals like that. It means we’re not properly positioning ourselves. We don’t put pressure on the ball; we allow the diagonal ball. “Unfortunately, we didn’t defend the far side of the cross. These are the things we’ll be addressing.”
Sithebe unfazed by 'good guy' Castillo
Chiefs coach reckons Venezuelan is just what they need
Image: Supplied
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siyethemba Sithebe doesn’t feel threatened by the arrival of fellow midfielder Edson Castillo from Venezuela.
“Castillo is a good guy. I visited him at the hotel and all those things. I won’t say now I have pressure or feel threatened. Sometimes competition is more important than anything in football because it makes you to work even harder. His arrival motivates me to pull up my socks,” Sithebe said during Chiefs’ jersey launch ceremony at The Galleria Conference and Events Venue in Eastgate last week.
Castillo joined Chiefs from his native Venezuelan side Monagas early this month. Amakhosi coach Molefi Ntseki couldn’t stop raving about Castillo after their 1-0 defeat to Botswana side Township Rollers in Gaborone at the weekend.
“I think that’s the player we needed to have on the pitch. As I said, we played him for 70 minutes in Tanzania [when they also lost 1-0 to Young Africans in another pre-season friendly the previous weekend]. So, today [on Saturday], the plan was for him to play 45 minutes and give others a chance,” Ntseki told SuperSport TV after the game.
“I think he [Castillo] is a revelation in terms of our tactical play, in terms of his intelligence in possession and also how he’s helping us out of possession. He’ll be giving us more balance in the midfield going forward.”
Despite the defeat, Ntseki maintained they were on the right track, underlining that they should avoid giving away goals like they did against Rollers. Amakhosi will get their league campaign underway by hosting Chippa United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (3pm).
“In terms of playing minutes preparing for the first game, I think we’re on the right track. If you look at the first half and the first group of players who played, it was more of getting more playing minutes,” Ntseki said.
“I think the first thing is you don’t give away goals like that. It means we’re not properly positioning ourselves. We don’t put pressure on the ball; we allow the diagonal ball. “Unfortunately, we didn’t defend the far side of the cross. These are the things we’ll be addressing.”
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