Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siyethemba Sithebe is embracing the increased competition for a central midfield birth with the signing of Venezuelan international Edson Castillo.
Castillo, who has won six caps for Venezuelan, impressed on his starting debut in a 1-0 defeat to Township Rollers at the weekend and comes with a hefty pedigree.
Sithebe, instead of feeling threatened, believes Castillo’s arrival will ultimately make him a better player.
“Castillo is a good guy. I visited him at the hotel and all those things. I won’t say now I have pressure or feel threatened. Sometimes competition is more important than anything in football because it makes you to work even harder. His arrival motivates me to pull up my socks,” Sithebe said during Chiefs’ jersey launch ceremony at The Galleria Conference and Events Venue in Eastgate last week.
𝐍𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄! 🤝🏾
— GOAL South Africa (@GOALcomSA) July 31, 2023
Sithebe says he doesn't feel threatened or pressured by the arrival of Castillo at Naturena 💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/0SGaWhxb6S
Meanwhile, Chiefs head coach has hailed the new signing as a ‘revelation’.
“I think that’s the player we needed to have on the pitch. As I said, we played him for 70 minutes in Tanzania [when they also lost 1-0 to Young Africans in another pre-season friendly the previous weekend]. So, today [on Saturday], the plan was for him to play 45 minutes and give others a chance,” Ntseki told SuperSport TV after the game.
“I think he [Castillo] is a revelation in terms of our tactical play, in terms of his intelligence in possession and also how he’s helping us out of possession. He’ll be giving us more balance in the midfield going forward.”
