Chiefs legend Masilela likens Da Cruz to Man United’s Ruben Amorim
Kaizer Chiefs are unbeaten. They’ve collected 13 points from seven matches. On paper, that should be cause for celebration.
Instead, club legend Tsepo Masilela is raising red flags — and the comparison he’s drawn is a brutal one.
Ruben Amorim. Manchester United. A manager who refused to bend, and paid for it with his job. Masilela sees the same stubborn streak in Fernando Da Cruz.
Three wins. Four draws. Twelve goals scored, seven conceded. Chiefs can clearly find the net — but they keep leaking at the back, and it’s costing them points that should already be in the bag.
“When I look at the way they set up, I don’t think they’re defensive,” Masilela said on the Soccerbeat podcast.
“He could say he’s playing a winger as a wingback in Pule Mmodi, but also his team is scoring — but the mistakes at the back always disappoint them and sees them drop points.”
It’s not really about tactics, though. It’s about conviction — and whether that conviction is worth the risk.
“It’s the similar things that happened to a Manchester United when they hired Ruben Amorim,” Masilela explained.
“Even when he got suggestions that he should change his back three, he opted to lose his job while playing in a way he believed in.”
Then comes the bigger question. Did Chiefs actually know what they were signing up for?
Unlike coaches who arrive with proven pedigree at big African clubs, Da Cruz walked into Naturena as something of an unknown quantity — no track record the South African public could point to and say, “this is his identity.”
“It’s not like Da Cruz was coaching a Pyramids FC or a Yanga SC and we got to see how he sets up his teams,” Masilela said. “So we can see if he’s an attacking coach or possession-based — and that maybe brings me to question whether the club did their homework on how he plays, and if that will fit the culture the club prefers.”
Unbeaten is good. But at Naturena, good has never been the ceiling — it’s the floor. And Masilela’s warning is clear: conviction without balance can sink even the most well-meaning philosophy.
