Posted in Features, News on Aug 04, 2020.
“This year we are really playing as a unit,” former Kaizer Chiefs defender Jimmy Joubert comments on the team’s performances this season, before referring to the restart of the Absa Premiership on 12 August. “The boys must just go out and enjoy the game.”
Long before Chiefs’ ‘Operation Vat Alles’ campaign in 2001, Amakhosi won every trophy available in 1984: the league title, the Mainstay Cup, the John Player Special Cup and the Sales House Cup.
A brick in the defence of the Glamour Boys that year was ‘Brixton Tower’ Joubert, a 1.95m tall Afrikaner who was as strong as an ox.
He started out as a striker, scoring 23 goals to help Swaraj United win the Federation Professional League (FPL) in 1977, before finding the net 76 times in four seasons at Highlands Park, winning the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) title in 1980, five points ahead of runners-up Amakhosi.
Joubert, however, was later switched to a defender at Highlands Park. He joined Chiefs in 1982 at the age of 29, hanging up his boots at the end of the 1986 season, with the Glamour Boys.
He started playing, mostly, with Simon ‘Bull’ Lehoko in central defence, while later forming a combination with Garth Allardice and Silvester ‘City’ Kole.
About that great 1984 season, Joubert comments, “We worked as a unit, despite having stars like Ace Ntsoelengoe and Teenage Dladla. We all blended well, and we had a nice balance in the team.”
One of the strength of Chiefs, according to the former defender, was that the team showed uniformity in the way they dressed, especially also off-the-field.
“I remember that Samora Khulu was once sent home at the airport for an away game, as he had arrived wearing jeans, instead of the Chiefs kit,” Joubert reflects. “That was in stark contrast with other clubs, as their players always looked scruffy with everybody wearing something different.
“If a team looks sloppy, even if it’s off-the-field, it often starts playing in a sloppy, undisciplined way. We, however, always looked neat and, to me, that has always been part of Chiefs’ success.”
Amakhosi are presently on top of the league table with 48 points from 22 games, four points ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns, although they have a game in hand.
Chiefs will resume the league on Wednesday, 12 August, hosting Bidvest Wits at Orlando Stadium, which has been designated as the home stadium for the team for the remaining fixtures. Kick-off is at 18:00. No supporters will be allowed in the stadium, but the match will be broadcasted live on TV.
“Orlando Stadium was always our home,” explains Joubert, not being worried about Chiefs not playing the home games at FNB Stadium. “Orlando has a rich history with Kaizer Chiefs… that sentiment, it’s a special stadium.
“Of course, the players will miss the supporters, as they give the team that energy. It is how it is. They should also not worry about what the other teams are doing when it comes to results. They just need to get their mind in the right place and focus on themselves. If they continue playing as a unit, they will get the results.”
Long before Chiefs’ ‘Operation Vat Alles’ campaign in 2001, Amakhosi won every trophy available in 1984: the league title, the Mainstay Cup, the John Player Special Cup and the Sales House Cup.
A brick in the defence of the Glamour Boys that year was ‘Brixton Tower’ Joubert, a 1.95m tall Afrikaner who was as strong as an ox.
He started out as a striker, scoring 23 goals to help Swaraj United win the Federation Professional League (FPL) in 1977, before finding the net 76 times in four seasons at Highlands Park, winning the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) title in 1980, five points ahead of runners-up Amakhosi.
Joubert, however, was later switched to a defender at Highlands Park. He joined Chiefs in 1982 at the age of 29, hanging up his boots at the end of the 1986 season, with the Glamour Boys.
He started playing, mostly, with Simon ‘Bull’ Lehoko in central defence, while later forming a combination with Garth Allardice and Silvester ‘City’ Kole.
About that great 1984 season, Joubert comments, “We worked as a unit, despite having stars like Ace Ntsoelengoe and Teenage Dladla. We all blended well, and we had a nice balance in the team.”
One of the strength of Chiefs, according to the former defender, was that the team showed uniformity in the way they dressed, especially also off-the-field.
“I remember that Samora Khulu was once sent home at the airport for an away game, as he had arrived wearing jeans, instead of the Chiefs kit,” Joubert reflects. “That was in stark contrast with other clubs, as their players always looked scruffy with everybody wearing something different.
“If a team looks sloppy, even if it’s off-the-field, it often starts playing in a sloppy, undisciplined way. We, however, always looked neat and, to me, that has always been part of Chiefs’ success.”
Amakhosi are presently on top of the league table with 48 points from 22 games, four points ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns, although they have a game in hand.
Chiefs will resume the league on Wednesday, 12 August, hosting Bidvest Wits at Orlando Stadium, which has been designated as the home stadium for the team for the remaining fixtures. Kick-off is at 18:00. No supporters will be allowed in the stadium, but the match will be broadcasted live on TV.
“Orlando Stadium was always our home,” explains Joubert, not being worried about Chiefs not playing the home games at FNB Stadium. “Orlando has a rich history with Kaizer Chiefs… that sentiment, it’s a special stadium.
“Of course, the players will miss the supporters, as they give the team that energy. It is how it is. They should also not worry about what the other teams are doing when it comes to results. They just need to get their mind in the right place and focus on themselves. If they continue playing as a unit, they will get the results.”
