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We must work harder to attract Broos' attention: Kaizer Chiefs' Cele

We must work harder to attract Broos' attention: Kaizer Chiefs' Cele

TimesLIVE19-06-2025
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Thabo Cele says the club's players are not discouraged by Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos overlooking them for national team selection, insisting they will continue to work hard to persuade him otherwise.
Broos has continuously omitted Chiefs players for national team camps, the most recent of which included the friendly matches against Tanzania and Mozambique at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
The Belgian named Chiefs trio of Bruce Bvuma, Yusuf Maart and Mduduzi Shabalala in his preliminary squad, but they did not make the cut for the final 23.
With the absence of all Mamelodi Sundowns' players, who form the core of the Bafana squad, Broos cast his net wide for talent and depth and still there was no space for Chiefs' players.
Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Thabo Cele feature in the latest Read My Lips episode, and it's pure entertainment! 🫢
Watch the full episode now: https://t.co/whTOwgTkzb @Vodacom @KaizerChiefs #AlwaysHome pic.twitter.com/LOds1albba
— Vodacom Soccer (@VodacomSoccer) June 10, 2025
Broos said at the time Amakhosi's poor season, ending in ninth place in the Betway Premiership, and lack of form of their players, meant on merit he had found it hard to pick their players.
'For the moment I think I can't select the players of Kaizer Chiefs," he said. "I hope they produce a better season next year. OK, they won the [Nedbank] cup, but I think that was the only highlight in the season for Chiefs. All the rest was not so good.'
Cele, who joined Amakhosi in the January transfer window, said Chiefs' players would take this as motivation to do better to be selected in the future.
'Maybe he [Broos] has a point because we are a big club that has not been winning,' Cele said during the Thabo Thalente annual games in Durban. The tournament was launched this month by Cele and his friend, Orlando Pirates midfielder Thalente Mbatha, for amateur teams in their home township of KwaMashu.
'In small clubs, there are not many expectations and Broos looks at individuals only. We strive to be at the right level. The team has to win something and we just have to continue working hard.
'Whatever happened in the short time I'm grateful for the people I work with because everyone at the club is involved and the six months I have been with the club has been a blessing to me.'
The 28-year-old KZN Academy product made 15 appearances for Chiefs after joining them in January having spent eight-and-a-half seasons in Europe, helping them to lift the Nedbank Cup.
'For me to come back to Chiefs, the mission was to help the club win trophies because we know this is the biggest club in the country even though we've not been doing well in terms of winning things. But we know this is a team that must win trophies.
'We are still on that mission and I'm happy we won the trophy after 10 years. It is positive and encourages us going forward to know we can challenge for more things next season.'
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