When you are in a tight spot and you need help from someone you can trust and rely on, you call “10111”.

For Kaizer Chiefs, in their hour of need fortunately they didn’t have to look far to call on their very own “10111”.

Arthur Zwane is part and parcel of the Amakhosi fabric, spending nearly a decade as a player with the club he joined in 2000 as a popular winger who went on to achieve considerable success in his time with the gold and black.

In recent years, Zwane has been building his coaching credentials leading the club’s under 21 and Diski Challenge teams, while also serving as first team assistant coach.

Following the departure of coach Gavin Hunt, Zwane has been tasked – along with Dillon Sheppard – with taking the reins of the Amakhosi at a critical time.

Zwane and Sheppard’s first successful task was guiding the Amakhosi to the respectability of an MTN Top 8 spot after a dismal league season, as they led the team to important wins over Golden Arrows and TS Galaxy in their final two DStv Premiership games.

Now, a mammoth task awaits, as they take Chiefs to Morocco for a date with destiny in the first leg of the CAF Champions League semi-final against Wydad Athletic Club of Casablanca.

It’s one of the biggest games in Amakhosi’s over five decades and one Zwane is naturally “nervous” about. But as he carries the club on his shoulders this weekend, Zwane has plenty of support and encouragement from some of his closest friends and colleagues.

Before departing for Morocco, Zwane, Gerald Sibeko and Kaizer Motaung Jr got together at FNB Stadium to warmly reflect on their journey with the Amakhosi and the significance of what the Wydad clash and Chiefs’ CAF campaign means for the club.

Zwane will be in the heat of the dugout this weekend, but as first team manager, Sibeko continues to play a crucial role behind the scenes in ensuring the team is prepared for battle, while Kaizer Jnr provides invaluable input and counsel as part of the team’s football department.

“It’s a great feeling leading the team in such an important game, but naturally the nerves are also there. I will always be available to answer the call of the club and to give my best whenever I am given the chance to lead. It is good to know that whatever stress you encounter, you go through it as a team and that I also have the support of you guys whenever I need it. As a player I was taking the coach’s instructions, now I am the one giving the instructions. It’s double stress, but I am enjoying the challenge,” says Zwane, relaxed in the company of good friends at such an intense time.

While the trio is all relatively new in their coaching and administrative careers, there’s no denying their pedigree as players. For the current Amakhosi first team, the trio provides invaluable first-hand experience and a sounding board of what it takes to achieve success and prevail in the difficult circumstances they will face this weekend.

Zwane was an integral part of Chiefs’ ‘Operation Vat Alles’ squad that in 2001 won the Coca Cola Cup, BP Top 8 and most famously the CAF African Cup Winners Cup trophies.

Zwane scored in the 2001 CAF Cup Winners Cup quarter-final against Egyptian giants Ismailia as Chiefs beat some big guns en route to their first continental trophy in 2001. He may be a young coach, but he’s been there, done that and has the t-shirt, and he knows the mentality needed for Chiefs to cause a CAF shock that nobody expected this season.

“The man above has played a huge role. Nobody gave us a chance in the CAF Champions League this season. I give everyone who took part in our CAF campaign huge credit. We could not reinforce the team this season, we have had lots of injuries and we are amid a global pandemic. But we were positive and we remain positive.  We know what we want as a team and we will get what we want,” says Zwane.

Sibeko, who came through the club’s development ranks and in over 10 years with the first team won 10 honours including league titles in 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, hailed the entire Kaizer Chiefs operation and the club’s supporters for their CAF progression to date.

“We’ve needed to travel in and out of the African continent this season, during the COVID pandemic, but we managed to pull through. Everyone has played their part, from the people who have prepared the grass at the training ground, to everyone at the Village who has ensured the team is ready to compete on the African continent,” says Sibeko.

“As a player I remember how tough it was competing on the African continent and I’ve used that experience as a team manager to make it easier for the guys. As a former player you can look ahead and anticipate things and help players to respond. When you’re playing in the CAF Champions League – especially playing away – you have to be strong and you have to adapt. And playing at home, you still have to adopt that same mentality,” Sibeko added.

Kaizer Jr, who in his over 10 years as a player with the club won 12 honours including three league titles, praised Sibeko’s meticulous preparation as team manager and says the CAF Champions League would be the pinnacle of achievement for the club.

“You (Gerald) have spent sleepless nights and countless hours, co-ordinating with people in so many different countries, to ensure the team travels safely on the continent,” says Motaung Jnr, adding “we have unfinished business on the African continent. For the Chairman, seeing us putting a star on this badge would be something out of this world”.