Stuart Baxter’s Second Homecoming At Kaizer Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs’ name was strewn over all of the leading publications front pages last week after the appointment of Stuart Baxter as their new head coach. Baxter returns to the Chiefs’ after Gavin Hunt was shown the door. Hunt failed to make the necessary impact at the Soweto giants. His disastrous results saw the side winning six league matches out of 28 games which nearly pushed the side into a relegation scrap. However, Hunt was hamstrung by the Amakhosi’s transfer ban.

It is astonishing that Chiefs have zero trophies in the past six years but can still cajole the best coaches to rescue the sinking ship, that shows you the status the brand carries. Baxter, who recently coached Bafana Bafana, faces a daunting task to make Amakhosi function like a well-oiled machine and challenge Mamelodi Sundowns’ dominance again.

Baxter’s three-year stint at Naturena between 2012 – 2015 was a success story – two league titles plus an MTN 8 and Nedbank Cup titles expanded the trophy cabinet. In the 2012-13 season, the Englishman managed to adapt easily to club football in South Africa. At that time Chiefs were in desperate need of ending the dominance of arch-rivals Orlando Pirates. But Baxter’s introduction of stubborn defensive football relying on wingers like Siphiwe Tshabalala to catch the opponent on the counter-attacks paid off handsomely.

His adoption of ‘defensive’ football was not something new in his career as he inspired Swedish side AIK to an Allsvenskan title in 1998 despite scoring 25 goals in 26 games. The combination of Bernard Parker and Lehlohonolo Majoro was immense upfront, it troubled many defences to give the side a league title in his first season. And the Nedbank Cup was added for good measure. 

The following season Baxter adopted a completely new football tactic – using fullbacks, Jimmy Tau and Tsepo Masilela attacked while also blocking the opposition wingers’ space to attack. Chiefs wingers would drop inside making it difficult for opponents to track players while creating spaces and opportunities to score goals. The train was in motion and Amakhosi became fearless and unstoppable. But things fell back like a pack of cards, the twelve points gap created in the log standings was closed by Mamelodi Sundowns. In the end, they got edged out of the title by Sundowns by just two points. The club didn’t win any trophy that season but fans were still satisfied with the enticing football played by Chiefs. 

Heading into the new season, Baxter introduced another style of play, the 4-5-1 formation. A steady back four plus Willard Katsande playing a double pivot role with Renewile Letsholonyane and supplying wingers like Mandla Masango and Tshabalala with the ball. Parker was given a new role to play behind Kingston Nkatha. A season opener of 4-0 trouncing of Mpumalanga Black Aces in the MTN 8 did nothing to arouse suspicion of what Baxter was concocting, it was their eighth consecutive league win that defied all football logic. Amakhosi became dangerous breaking the barriers, especially from set-pieces. The third season for Baxter ended with a double, a deserving league trophy plus the MTN 8. Unfortunately, his spell ended as he left the country to pursue his career in Europe.

But his appointment brings hope as his track record of winning titles with different clubs indicates he can deliver once again for Chiefs. Even in his time at Supersport United, he managed to give youngsters a chance with experienced players flourishing under his leadership. His experience of coaching and understanding South African football makes him the best coach to revive the club. Given that the Soweto side’s FIFA transfer ban is coming to an end and the side will be able to sign players will make it interesting to see how he strengthens his squad. 

BET Contributor