Early Doubts Surround Kaizer Chiefs Coach Fernando Da Cruz

Fernando Da Cruz has barely had time to learn the quickest route from tunnel to touchline at Kaizer Chiefs, yet the new man is already under fire from one of the club’s outspoken former forwards.

Fees Moloi has taken direct aim at the Frenchman’s cautious tone about the season ahead, accusing him of sounding more like a man preparing his defence than plotting a title charge.

Early doubts over a cautious coach

Da Cruz has suggested that his current squad lacks the tactical variety and depth required to seriously contest the league while also juggling the demands of the CAF Confederation Cup. He has also hinted that the club’s sluggish start in the transfer market could limit what he can achieve.

For Moloi, that language set off alarm bells.

Speaking to KickOff, the former Chiefs striker drew a straight line between Da Cruz and his predecessor Nasreddine Nabi, arguing that the new boss is already building a safety net.

“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’,” Moloi said. “Da Cruz is the same as Nabi. His statement reminds me of the Tunisian coach.

“It is his job to get the team ready. It seems he took the job blindly.”

At a club of Chiefs’ stature, patience is always in short supply. Transition is tolerated, but only if it comes wrapped in ambition. The expectation remains the same: compete for every trophy on offer.

“If they’re not ready, what is he doing here?”

Moloi’s criticism cut deeper than just a disagreement over tone. He questioned the very logic of the appointment and the alignment between Da Cruz and the hierarchy at Naturena.

Moloi asked why any coach would accept the Kaizer Chiefs job without full belief that he could make the existing squad competitive from the first whistle.

“If Kaizer Chiefs are not ready to compete, then what is he doing here?” he said. “He was brought in to prepare the team and make it competitive. This coach does not seem confident in himself.”

That line goes to the heart of the tension. Is this a coach sensibly managing expectations in a rebuilding phase, or a leader stepping into one of South Africa’s biggest jobs already braced for failure?

For Moloi, the answer is clear. If reinforcements were non-negotiable, those demands should have been on the table long before pen met paper.

Boardroom questions and a looming test

The spotlight now swings onto the Chiefs boardroom. Do they move aggressively in the market to satisfy Da Cruz’s concerns, or do they hold the line and insist that he finds solutions within the current group?

Moloi believes the groundwork should have been done long ago.

“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’.”

For Da Cruz, the message from one of the club’s former forwards is blunt: stop sounding uncertain, start sounding like a Kaizer Chiefs coach.

The season has not even kicked off, and already the new man finds himself fighting a perception battle. How quickly he can change that narrative may define not just his first campaign in charge, but how long he is allowed to shape this troubled squad at all.