Flavio Silva puts team first as Kaizer Chiefs chase CAF glory

Flavio Silva is gradually finding his feet at Kaizer Chiefs, contributing some crucial goals. However, he emphasises that collective success is more important than achieving personal targets.

Chiefs will begin their CAF Confederation Cup group stage campaign with a clash away against Al Masry at Suez Stadium on Sunday.

They need to win that match and send a stern message to the rest of their Group D opponents, which include Zamalek and Zesco United, about their intentions to reach the knockout stage. That’s why they’ll need to be clinical up front and rock solid in defense.

Chiefs will be looking to none other than Silva for goals. The 29-year-old started the season slowly due to delays with work permits and injury setbacks.

But after finally making his debut, he repaid the faith shown in him by the club and silenced the detractors, who had scrutinised him for a below-par pre-season, scoring four goals across seven games in all competitions.

Speaking to the club’s media team before flying out to Egypt this week, Silva reflected on his newly found rhythm at the club.

“The feeling is good, and it’s been a process,” Silva said. “I didn’t have a good start because I wasn’t playing, and now I am. So that’s very important. The team is currently in a good moment as well, and that’s also important.

“My target is to help the team. I know my role and what I have to do. I also know the players’ qualities. I focus on helping with goals and assists, so that’s really good.”

Things have been going well all around for Chiefs. Silva is not the only striker in form, as Mduduzi Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi are also coming of age after playing a crucial role in the team’s turnaround over the last four games.

“We must score more goals because we have ambitions,” Silva said of the attackers’ effectiveness. “It’s not just a Flavio thing, but a collective thing.

As a striker, I must have the ambition to score, but I need to bring that into the team. We must have hope and pass that on to the rest of the team.”

Indeed, Chiefs need to stick together as a unit. Their next group stage clash against Zamalek, one of the powerhouses of African football, at New Peter Mokaba Stadium will be challenging both mentally and physically.

A victory in that match will not only give them a much-needed boost in their campaign, but it would also serve as the perfect Christmas present for their beloved supporters, who have stuck with the team through the good and bad times this year.

“The preparations always require focus,” said Silva ahead of their last two games of the year. “We need to show ambition and determination because it’s a big stage. But the mandate remains the same: we are going into the two games to win and to do everything we can.”

Silva seemed to have done everything possible to make his debut for his native country, Guinea-Bissau, during the recently closed FIFA window, but that wasn’t to be, as their international friendly against Angola was cancelled.

However, he hasn’t despaired. He knows that he is on the right track to breaking into the national team, and that’s why he is grateful for the support he has received from his teammates and coaches at Chiefs.

“I would like to thank my teammates and all the staff of the club who have been helping me because it’s not just an individual thing,” Silva said. “When we get results, individual targets follow. So, it’s a team effort.”