They may be meeting just two days ahead of the International Day of Love, Valentine’s Day, but Kaizer Chiefs know it will be tough love when they host TS Galaxy at the FNB Stadium in the Nedbank Cup round of 32 on Saturday night.

Chiefs begin their 50^th campaign in the Nedbank Cup against Galaxy this weekend, looking to renew a romance that has lasted over half a century with South Africa’s premier cup competition.

The competition began in 1971, when Chiefs competed in – and won – the inaugural competition.

Since 1971 Amakhosi have the trophy on 12 more occasions for a record haul of 13 titles.

Midfield maestro Doctor Khumalo is an alumnus of this competition who campaigned in it over 14 seasons for Kaizer Chiefs.

And “16V” believes Chiefs are designed to play knockout football.

“Knockout games test your pedigree. It was always a norm at Kaizer Chiefs to go all out and win silverware for the fans. We were specialists in knockout football,” Khumalo told www.kaizerchiefs.com this week.

Khumalo was a six-time Nedbank Cup finalist and a three-time winner with Chiefs in three different decades in 1987, 1992, and 2000.

He always wanted to compete in the latter stages of Cup competitions and as an Amakhosi player he more than often than not managed to do to that.

“We always strove to be in the final. We once lost in the final in 1999 and went and got to the final and won it the following year. For us to be in the final showed the passion we had. It was a norm when we signed the contract, we knew we would challenge in these competitions,” says Khumalo.

For the former Chiefs legend  there were a number of incentives towards winning the Nedbank Cup and these were enticing to them as payers.

“Winning the Nedbank Cup or BOB Save Super Bowl when I played would also help you qualify for African club competition, which was the cherry on top,” says Khumalo.

Of all his football memories, one that stands out is captaining Chiefs to their 11^th Nedbank Cup victory in 2000, when they defeated Sundowns in the final 1-0 and he had the honour of walking up the podium to lift the trophy for the club.

“It was humbling. I never thought I had those qualities. But growing up at Chiefs they don’t just create a soccer player, but a human and it developed the innermost part of me. It was history making, because you would always be remembered as the captain of that team. I was leading by example,” Khumalo recalls proudly.

For Khumalo this competition was the best way to sign off from a long season.

“it meant a lot to win it because before the change of the football calendar it was always the last game of the year. We always made sure it would be a gift for our supporters and our chairman and everyone at Kaizer Chiefs going into the December holiday,” says Khumalo.

Like Khumalo, current Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has also had a romance with the main national cup competition of the country for a while now.

He led Chiefs to the trophy in 2013 and won it two more times with SuperSport United in 2016 and 2017.  He has also won the Swedish cup twice and when asked of his passion for the Nedbank Cup and similar competitions he was quick to explain, saying “growing up in England with the FA Cup, the giant killing etc. This is the competition that reminds me the most of it”.

For Baxter the element of elimination makes the Nedbank Cup special.

“As a coach all cup tournaments appeal to me and there is no way back. Its tournament football. It’s not a quick fix. You don’t win one game and win the tournament. It’s a longer route. The ones that have a good attitude, they have a chance in these cup competitions,” says Baxter.

Taking advice from his father, Baxter has just one aim come the end of the game on Saturday against Galaxy.

“My late father was at Aston Villa, and I remember when the cup came around he always said ‘let’s get into the hat for the next round’. It was not about playing beautiful football, it was about getting into the hat. The history of the competition and all of these things make cup football interesting,” says Baxter.