Ben Youssef Praises Baartman’s Debut Performance
Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef expressed delight with Luke Baartman’s debut performance in their draw against TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium on Sunday.
The 19-year-old had been waiting for his debut after a lengthy transfer saga with Cape Town Spurs.
The Urban Warriors had argued that Baartman and teammate Asanele Velebayi remained under binding contracts, but they were later given the green light to sign with their new clubs.
Ben Youssef praised Baartman’s introduction to the game, saying that he had a great performance despite playing 10 minutes.
“I think all of them deserve to play. We have a big squad now, there’s a lot of competition between the players,” he said.
“For us as coaches, we’re with them at training, and we see which player is more ready for the game.
“We also prepare every game, so we know when to make a substitution and when to make it as well at the right moment.
“Baartman came in the 80th minute, he played very well in the last 10 minutes as he created a lot of opportunities for us. We have to continue to work, and the most important thing is the performance of the players.”
As this was Chiefs’ second draw match on the bounce to end 2025, the Tunisian mentor noted that they played well in both matches, but their main struggle remains in the final third.
“I think both games we said the same thing, the most important thing is the performance of the team,” he added.
“Both games we dominated, we created many opportunities, and the same problem we have is in the last third. We created a lot of opportunities, but we were unlucky not to score goals.
“Now we will have this break to fix these problems and to think about something forward. We are happy with the performances, but we have to focus on the missing point because we’re not scoring the opportunities we always get.
“We have to continue to work, we have to fix these problems, and then I think the most important thing is the performance of the team.
“I think if the team is performing well, then we don’t have to be scared about the team; we have to be worried if we’re not performing well.”
Amakhosi currently sit in fourth position with 24 points in the Betway Premiership and will return to action in January when they face ZESCO United in the CAF Confederation Cup match.
