Kaizer Chiefs COACH, Cedric Kaze, has come out in the open with his goalkeeper, Brandon Petersen, who believes that he deserves to get on the plane of the national team, Bafana Bafana, heading to the World Cup next month.
Kaze said this after Petersen scored another outstanding goal and was finally selected as the best player as Chiefs beat AmaZulu 1-0 in the Betway Premiership match on Saturday, at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban.
Petersen (31) has been in good form this season, keeping 18 of 35 clean sheets in all competitions this season.
Although Kaze started by clarifying that he does not want to interfere in the selection of players by the Bafana coach, Hugo Broos, he said that he believes that Petersen deserves to be called to the national team because of his good form this season.
“I don’t want to comment on which players should be called and who should not be called because we will soon know who will be called and the Bafana Bafana coach knows what he needs from his team,” said Kaze, who trains together with Khalil Ben Youssef.
Soon, Broos is expected to announce the final squad that he will play with in the World Cup that will start from June 11 to July 19 in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
“We also need to give him the opportunity to choose the players he wants in an undisguised way. I want to see Brandon Petersen go to the World Cup because he deserves it because of his good performance and he continues to be in the same form throughout the season,” continued Kaze.
When asked what has changed about the goalkeeper this season, he said that his regular performances have helped him a lot this season.
He also praised the behavior of the goalkeeper even outside the field before becoming a dedicated player on the field.
“I can say that is what has changed for him (playing regularly) this season because he did not play many games last season.
He played in the final of the Nedbank Cup (last season), this season he played a lot of games and he is a player who works hard, he trains every day with the same spirit and the same intensity and I like to tell the players that good things happen to people who do well.
I’m happy with what happened to him and he deserves everything that’s happening to him,” said Kaze.
Amakhosi have booked a place in the Caf Confederation Cup next season, and will wrap up the season by playing against Chippa United on Saturday, 3 pm at Moses Mabhida Stadium.