Just what were Kaizer Chiefs hierarchy thinking when they sanctioned a deal to sign Ranga Chivaviro two years ago?
On Wednesday, Chiefs confirmed that they had parted ways with the forward after ansuccessful season in front of goal.
The Limpopo-born forward joined Amakhosi during the 2022/23 campaign, and much was expected from the man described by former Chiefs midfielder Fees Moloi as having a “style similar to Erling Haaland”, according to KickOff.
Moloi, with all due respect, couldn’t be more wrong. Haaland is the deadliest striker in world football and has found the back of the net a staggering 276 times in 342 senior club games. In his three years at Manchester City, he has plundered 121 goals in 142 games.
When Haaland takes to the field, his teammates expect him to deliver every single time. To be mentioned in the same sentence as the Norwegian, a player needs to have similar stats when it comes to goal contributions.Unfortunately, Chivaviro does not. He doesn’t even come close.
Chivaviro was brought to Chiefs to score goals. In the season before moving to Naturena, he scored 17 goals in all competitions for Marumo Gallants. That tally was impressive, and Kaizer Chiefs fans were excited when he was signed. They expected goals. Lots of them.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get that. In his first season, he found the back of the net just four times. And in the season that just ended, he scored five goals.
He was brought to Chiefs to score goals, and in two seasons, he found the back of the net just nine times. That’s just not good enough, and whoever did his scouting report failed to mention that his 17-goal season for Gallants was a rare anomaly.
For a team wanting to return to the glory days, Chivaviro was the wrong man from the start.
To win football games, you need strikers who score goals. Chiefs know this. In the past, they had the likes of Fani Madida, Marks Maponyane, Pollen Ndlanya, and Colins Mbesuma. Even sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jr knew how to put the ball in the back of the net in his day.
If the club want to be back among the big guns of South African football, they need to do better in terms of recruitment.
The next player they bring in needs to have a proven pedigree of scoring goals. Otherwise, they’ll find themselves with a player who doesn’t hit double figures in two full seasons.
Kaizer Chiefs can no longer afford to gamble on strikers who might deliver. If the club are serious about reclaiming their status as a South African football powerhouse, they must adopt a ruthless, results-driven approach to recruitment.
The next striker signing must arrive not with comparisons to global superstars, but with cold, hard numbers – and a track record to back them up.
IOL Sport
* The views expressed are not necessarily the views of IOL or Independent Media.
** JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Send us an email with your comments, thoughts or responses to iolletters@inl.co.za. Letters should be a maximum of 500 words, and may be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Submissions should include a contact number and physical address (not for publication).
