Posted in News on Jul 20, 2009.
Veteran winger, Arthur Zwane has revealed that he and his teammates are ready to put a
good fight when they come against Manchester City in the Vodacom Challenge fixture to be
played at Absa Stadium on Tuesday night.
“10111” who has been with the Glamour Boys since 2000 took kaizerchiefs.com
through memory lane as the Cup celebrates its 10th anniversary since its inception back in
1999.
“I had trained twice for Orlando Pirates following my spell at Tembisa Classic. I
remember my mates at Orlando Pirates shocked when they heard on Saturday that I was going
to turn out for Kaizer Chiefs instead of Orlando Pirates,” said the Meadowlands born
recalling the ‘fight’ for his services.
Negotiations between the two giants settled for the player to play for Chiefs during
the Vodacom Challenge although he was partly owned by Orlando Pirates. The move saw late
striker, Lesley Manyathela moving to an opposite direction.
That allowed Zwane to make his first appearance for Kaizer Chiefs against Power Dynamos
of Zambia who were the late replacements for Raja Casablanca (Morocco).
“I remember the atmosphere in Mafikeng for that game. It was really something as
compared to the crowd that normally attended our games for Classic at Makhulong stadium.
We won the game and went on to beat Pirates in front of a packed Absa Stadium in
Durban,” recalled Zwane with a smile.
“I think the games against African teams prepared us for the African competitions
and of course we went on to win the Mandela Cup in 2001. The format was changed where top
opposition from England were brought so it has really been good experience for us and I am
looking forward to this game against Manchester City. The game is going to offer us an
opportunity to gauge ourselves technical and tactically against opposition.”
Manchester City came second best against rivals, Orlando Pirates last Saturday and
Arthur believes that the result my put some Amakhosi youngsters under pressure.
“Teams seem to lift their game when they come up against us. This was the case
when we played Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. It is very important for the guys
to be focused on the up coming game against Man City and forget about their previous
result,” said Zwane.
Tickets for the game are still on sale at Shoprite outlets and Computicket countrywide
and for more information on hospitality tickets log on to www.vodacomchallenge.com
Meanwhile, The Glamour Boys had an open training session at Absa Stadium on Monday
morning in a session attended by children from a local school. The players interacted with the crowd and signed autographs.
“It is always good to spend some time with the kids who wait for very long time
to meet their heroes as we are based in Johannesburg. It is something very close to our
hearts as players and we looking at doing the same when we arrive in Port Elizabeth on
Wednesday,” concluded Zwane.