Kaizer Chiefs will play back-to-back games against two Dutch Eredivisie (Premiership) sides. First up is FC Utrecht on Friday, with NEC Nijmegen following on Saturday.

"That will be a very different test," comments Thabo Cele. "Those games will show us where we are at present and where we want to go. Needless to say, this pre-season training will take us to the next level."

The Glamour Boys enjoyed a vibrant session on Thursday morning. There was also extra fun to it, as all the players went to the training ground by bicycle.

"The Netherlands are a very bike friendly country," the midfielder reflects with a huge smile on his face about his ride with the bicycle. "It was such fun!"

Cele is certainly not the loudest person in the squad. Far from it, but he does say what needs to be said when the time is there. He has this unassuming authority.

He feels that the first pre-season training game against Vitesse on Tuesday offered a lot of positives, despite the result, and some negatives to improve on. "In the first half, we had that patience and we were organised. We could even have added another goal or two.

"The guys who played in the second half haven't really played together as yet in that formation. But that's good, that's how you learn and that's how you have to see pre-season friendlies as well."

There was a lively atmosphere at the small sold-out soccer ground, attended by 2 000 soccer fans. "You could really feel that the Dutch spectators appreciated us and the way we played," Cele comments.

It's not for the first time that the midfielder visits the Netherlands. The 28-year-old was in the country for a training camp with the South African Under-20 national team before the 2017 U-20 World Cup in South Korea. Cele was on the books of Portuguese side Real S.C. at the time.

Interestingly, one of the friendlies Amajita played in Holland eight years ago was against PEC Zwolle, which will be Chiefs' opponent in a training match on Tuesday, 15 July.

Cele raves about the hotel, where the team is staying, and the training facilities in Apeldoorn. "They are both surrounded by forests. It's magnificent. It really offers us an excellent opportunity to create that chemistry, to be ready when the season kicks off." 

Amakhosi will play against FC Utrecht behind closed doors on Friday, 11 July. Kick-off is at 16:00. 

The third training matches will be against NEC Nijmegen on Saturday, 12 July. Kick-off is set for 14:00.

The game against NEC Nijmegen will take place on the main field of Dutch amateur side Overasseltse Boys at Sportpark de Passelêgt in Overasselt, about 80 km from Apeldoorn. 

For soccer fans, including South Africans living in Holland or elsewhere in Europe, who would like to attend this encounter, tickets can be bought online: https://tickets.nec-nijmegen.nl/dashboard - and then click on 'OEFEN' (on the Dutch language side) or 'FRIENDLY MATCHES' (English language).

The entrance fee will cost 7.50 Euro per person for online tickets, while they will be 10 Euro when bought at Sportpark de Passelêgt. 

The Sportpark will be open from 13:00.

Both matches will be live streamed on YouTube , @KaizerChiefsFootballClub

The live streams will start about 15 minutes before kick-off.

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