Miguel Welcomes Confrontation Between Frosler And Leaner
Kaizer Chiefs defender Inacio Miguel insists he welcomed the heated confrontation between teammates Reeve Frosler and Renaldo Leaner following last weekend’s CAF Confederation Cup defeat to Zambian side Red Arrows, describing it as a healthy sign of passion and frustration.
Tempers flared between goalkeeper Leaner and defender Frosler immediately after the final whistle blew in the preliminary round first-leg tie in Lusaka, forcing Bruce Bvuma and Rushwin Dortley to step in and defuse the situation.
Alassane Diarra scored the only goal of the match to hand Red Arrows a 1-0 lead ahead of Friday’s decisive second leg at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Chiefs must secure a victory by a two-goal margin—such as 2-0 or 3-1—to overturn the deficit and advance to the Confederation Cup group stage.
“I saw the incident, and everybody saw it. Personally, I’m happy with these kinds of behaviours. We felt the loss,” said Miguel.
“Not only our supporters, but we also suffer; we also get disappointed and frustrated with the results. Unfortunately, it is something that happened on the field. There is nothing bad about the team; it is just a difference of opinions.”
Miguel dismissed claims that the on-field altercation pointed to dressing room unrest.
“With the images and footage, people think the exchange was a mess, but it was just a difference of opinions. It is not a problem,” Miguel added.
“For me, I see the solution in that kind of behaviour, that passion that we have. Sometimes it is lacking, and I feel that we need more of it. We need more aggression; we need to be more passionate about results. Especially when losing a game like this, it is never good. I was happy about that incident, just to tell you that.
“The gents are frustrated, and we have a chance on Friday to change that.”
Chiefs have struggled for consistency in recent weeks and head into Friday’s encounter having gone four matches without a win.
Miguel will hope that the team can channel its frustration into a strong performance and overturn the first-leg deficit to keep its Confederation Cup campaign alive.
