Kaze and Ben Youssef renew rivalry from opposite dugouts in Betway Premiership opener

Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef will line up against each other for the first time as head coaches on Saturday when Sekhukhune United meet Durban City in the Betway Premiership at Peter Mokaba Stadium.

The pair, who worked side by side as co-coaches at Kaizer Chiefs last season and previously as assistants in Tanzania, will be on opposing benches for the 17:30 kick-off, each attempting to outthink a man who knows his methods in detail.

Kaze and Ben Youssef left Amakhosi at the end of the last campaign after steering Kaizer Chiefs to a third-place league finish, a spell in which they regularly exchanged tactical ideas and shared responsibility for key decisions.

Now in charge of Sekhukhune United and Durban City respectively, both acknowledge that their intimate knowledge of each other’s approach adds an extra layer of complexity to the opening fixture.

‘Everyone knows the deeper ideas of the other’

Speaking after the Betway Premiership season launch in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Kaze admitted the reunion carries an unusual tactical edge.

“It’s a tricky one because everyone knows the deeper ideas of the other and we have been at the same table discussing tactics and trying to solve issues,” Kaze told the media.

“We know what the other one thinks and I’m pretty sure that both of us are now trying to come up with new ideas that the other one doesn’t know.

“And that’s the tricky part of the game … but looking forward, I know that he likes to play entertaining football and I want to cancel that. I’m pretty sure that it will be a very good game to watch.”

Kaze’s comments underline his intention to disrupt the expansive style he expects from Ben Youssef, even as he attempts to refresh his own tactical blueprint to avoid being second-guessed by his former colleague.

‘Coaches will only be 20% of the game’

Ben Youssef, now tasked with leading Durban City, echoed Kaze’s view that familiarity could make the encounter harder to navigate, but insisted the outcome would ultimately hinge on the players rather than the coaches.

“I think it will be a tricky game because we have been together for the last two seasons with Kaizer Chiefs. Previously with Young Africans … we worked together,” Ben Youssef said.

“We know each other, we debate a lot. I know how he thinks. But Cedric and I will only be 20% of the game, the players will play and will be more ready, and the team that will win will win not because of the coaches.

“Our job is to select the team and to try to manage them and we are not dependent on ourselves.”

His assessment places the emphasis on commitment and execution on the pitch, despite the obvious tactical subplot that comes with two long-time collaborators turning into direct competitors.

Familiar faces, new roles

The meeting at Peter Mokaba Stadium marks the first competitive clash between Kaze and Ben Youssef since their departure from Kaizer Chiefs, where they closed out last season in third place and left together at its conclusion.

Their partnership stretches back further, to a spell in Tanzania with Young Africans, where they again worked in tandem and developed the tactical understanding that now shapes their preparations against each other.

On Saturday, that shared history will inform every selection and adjustment as Sekhukhune United and Durban City begin their Betway Premiership campaigns with a fixture shaped as much by a touchline reunion as by the chase for early-season points.