Da Cruz aims to revive Chiefs’ continental campaign against Red Arrows

Fernando da Cruz takes charge of Kaizer Chiefs for the 10th time on Saturday with the opportunity to begin a competition in which he has previously enjoyed success.

Chiefs face Red Arrows in Ndola, Zambia, in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup second qualifying-round tie. The return match will be played next Friday, with a place in the group stages at stake.

The fixture comes at a difficult point for the South African club, who have won only one of their past six matches. Da Cruz must now overcome growing doubts and build belief in his approach since taking over at Chiefs.

Failure to progress after the two legs would represent a significant setback for the French coach.

Da Cruz draws on AS FAR experience

The Confederation Cup is familiar territory for Da Cruz from his time with Moroccan club AS FAR Rabat. During the 2022/23 season, he guided the army club to the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by USM Alger.

He will now look to use that experience to improve Chiefs’ record in the competition. They were eliminated in the group stages last season after narrowly missing out on progressing.

Red Arrows, the Zambian air force club, are expected to provide a stern test, particularly on home territory in the opening leg.

Da Cruz said he had identified several features of the hosts’ game, including their ability to attack quickly and use longer passes.

“It is a strong team with strong players,” he said. “They play offensive transition. They play long ball as well.”

The Chiefs manager also acknowledged that his side did not have a full understanding of the conditions they would encounter in Zambia, and suggested they could work against his team.

“About the conditions, we don’t know very well about the conditions, but maybe the conditions will not be good,” Da Cruz said.

Despite those concerns, he said the immediate objective was to secure a positive result before the return fixture in South Africa.

“But we are going to Zambia to have a good result and come back with a good result and to be in a positive mood for the game at home,” he added.

Da Cruz insisted he retained faith in the players available to him as Chiefs prepare for a demanding run of fixtures. The team are also due to play the Soweto derby on 31 October.

“We have confidence in our squad,” he said.