Da Cruz Faces Criticism for Early Caution at Kaizer Chiefs
Fernando Da Cruz has barely found his seat in the Kaizer Chiefs dugout, and already the knives are out.
The Frenchman’s early assessment of his squad — that it lacks the tactical variety and depth to seriously chase the league title while juggling CAF Confederation Cup duty — has landed badly with some of the club’s old guard. Add a sluggish start to the transfer window, and the mood around Naturena has turned restless before a ball has even been kicked.
Moloi sees “excuses” already
Among the most vocal critics is former Chiefs forward Fees Moloi, who has taken direct aim at Da Cruz’s public caution and drawn a straight line back to the brief and contentious era of Nasreddine Nabi.
For Moloi, the tone from the new coach is all wrong.
“Da Cruz is already making excuses so that if he fails to improve the team, he would be able to say ‘I told you so’,” he told KickOff, insisting the Frenchman’s words echo the approach of his Tunisian predecessor. “Da Cruz is the same as Nabi. His statement reminds me of the Tunisian coach.”
To Moloi, this is not about style of play or formations. It is about mentality. At a club built on the expectation of chasing every trophy on offer, he hears a coach softening the ground instead of staking a claim.
“It is his job to get the team ready. It seems he took the job blindly,” Moloi said, unimpressed by any suggestion that the squad is not yet equipped to compete on all fronts.
Expectations vs. reality at Naturena
Kaizer Chiefs do not do modest ambitions. Transition or not, the demand is always the same: compete, challenge, win.
That is the backdrop against which Moloi frames his criticism. If a coach walks into this job, he argues, he must believe he can make the current group competitive from the first whistle, not after a shopping spree or a grace period.
Moloi’s main concern is not only Da Cruz’s public messaging, but what it reveals about the alignment — or lack of it — between the coach and the club’s hierarchy. Was everyone truly on the same page when the deal was signed?
“If Kaizer Chiefs are not ready to compete, then what is he doing here?” Moloi asked pointedly. “He was brought in to prepare the team and make it competitive. This coach does not seem confident in himself.”
Those are heavy words for a man only just unpacking his bags.
Boardroom questions, touchline pressure
The heat now shifts towards the Chiefs boardroom. Do they move aggressively to match Da Cruz’s concerns with signings, or do they hold the line and insist that the new man delivers with what he has?
Moloi’s stance is blunt: if reinforcements were non-negotiable, that should have been spelled out before ink met paper. No caveats. No late surprises.
“Why did he accept the job at a team that is not ready?” he asked. “He should have told management from the beginning that ‘For me to be able to make the team compete, you will have to strengthen here and there’.”
In Moloi’s eyes, anything less suggests Da Cruz walked into the role without fully grasping the squad’s limitations — or without having the hard conversations early enough.
So the season hasn’t started, the window is still open, and already a familiar question hangs over Naturena: will the club back the coach’s caution, or will the coach be forced to prove he was wrong about his own team?
