Rattling the back of the net is what feeds the craving of every striker, but Kaizer Chiefs forward Ranga Chivaviro does not appear to be too obsessed with scoring goals. Instead, he prefers to share the responsibility with the rest of his teammates.
Chivaviro is the most senior striker at Amakhosi and he joined the side last season at the back of an impressive 2022/23 season where he was the main man for Marumo Gallants.
At Gallants, Chivaviro netted 17 goals across all competition and helped the side reach the CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals, which was what attracted Amakhosi to the 31-year-old.
READ: Ranga Chivaviro says Kaizer Chiefs full of confidence ahead of new season
Chiefs visit Marumo at the Free State Stadium with the hope to set foot in the right direction and undo the shambles of last season where Amakhosi embarrassingly finished outside of the top half of the table.
Chivaviro makes a vow to the Chiefs faithful, insisting this new term will be much better than the last.
“There will always be expectations when playing for Chiefs and what we can say to the fans is that we are definitely going to be doing better than we did last season.
“They are going to be watching good football accompanied by good results. We are still conscious of where we were last season and we still want to do well this season. For a club like Chiefs, we should be up there and that is where we want to take the team,” said Chivaviro.
As the most impressive player in pre-season, Chivaviro is likely to be selected to start by Nasreddine Nabi, who the striker describes as a motivator and a mentor who is desperate to bring the best out of his team.
“He is very direct and he is trying to instill what he wants from us and what comes with being a Kaizer Chiefs player. I think everyone has raised their standards and we can’t wait for the season to begin.
“He is reminding us what Chiefs is and wanting us to not repeat what happened last season, also reminding us that we are better than we were last season and we should always remember that we should not focus on other teams but focus on us and what we want to implement,” Chivaviro explained.
"As a striking force, we try to do things together and we want to add value to the team. The more goals that we score, hopefully the more games that we win."
However, his first season at Naturena was not one that he and the club envisioned as Chivaviro only managed to play 20 games and produced just four goals.
This term, he hopes for improvement but does not put the pressure solely on him as Chivaviro counts on the likes of Christian Saile, Ashley du Preez, Tebogo Potsane and Pule Mmodi to help carry the load.
“It is a collective effort and we want to see ourselves winning. It does not matter who scored, we just want to see ourselves winning. It is more of a collective, whether we are defending or attacking, we should always try to be involved,” said Chivaviro.
While Amakhosi staged most of their pre-season friendlies behind closed doors, Chivaviro is understood to be one of the best performing players in the build-up to the kick-off of the Betway Premiership.
“It is always a confidence booster when you score goals in pre-season because it is preparation for the season to start. It has lifted my confidence and put me in a place of belief once again and it puts us in place of wanting to start the season strong.”
Next Kaizer Chiefs Match!
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⚽️Marumo Gallants vs. Kaizer Chiefs
👕First Team
🗓️Saturday 14 September 2024
🏟Toyota Free State Stadium
🕞17h30
🎟R50/R60 - Ticketpro, Spar - https://t.co/nSBHeT3ji1
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