Gonzales has been struggling to get off the mark ever since joining the Glamor Boys.
It is every striker’s dream to get to a new club and start banging goals right away as this is the best was to establish rapport with fans and those that brought you to that particular club. Soccer fans tend to remember the man at the end of an attacking move more than those who helped create the move. For strikers, goals are their only outcome on the pitch.
It has not been a dream start for Kaiser chiefs’ new man, Colombian striker, Jason Gonzales. He was brought into the team to help in the striking force in the beginning of this season, but the goals have been lacking for him. Many fans and followers are not impressed with the striker’s run so far. He was roped in on a loan deal from Club Real Santa Cruz for only one season, and many Chiefs supporters are already calling for his departure at the club. The former coach at the club gave him a few starts in the team and he has not produced as expected or even show signs that something great will come out of him.
We have seen a number of South American players come and go in our league and most of them become instant fan favorites. Leonardo Castro is one of the recent Colombian strikers that played at the club. He join the glamor boys in 2018 and banged 29 goals in the 4 years he spent with the club. Although he was not an instant hit when got to the Chiefs, but he had built his reputation at Sundowns where he was poached. Sundowns are the one team well-known for importing players from South America and those players excel in the South African Premier Soccer League, regardless of the position they play. Many well traveled football analysts and commentators say that our local football is not far off different from the South American style. This probably explains why they usually do good when they come to our turf.
“He is still learning the African ways” Johnson exclaimed when asked about what he thinks of the Chiefs striker and what he is bringing to the club. He has faith in the player’s ability on the pitch and his statement would suggest to us that the player still needs more time to be accustomed to the way ball is played on this side of the World.
The interim head coach at Chiefs seems to be optimistic about the striker, he believes that the 24-year-old will surprise a lot of people soon.
“I think the Colombians, having worked with them before, are very stubborn” said Johnson. “But they also love football and I have been trying to understand what Gonzalez is all about and if we give him a little more opportunity and I am able to train with him a little bit more, he will get used to what the Chiefs brand is all about” Johnson continued. He sounded like he had seen something good from the striker in training as he went as far as saying that Gonzales has good feet.
Is this a case of the passionate Chiefs fans losing their patience on the striker too early or this is just one the Club’s bad buys? This question remains open as we wait and see if the Colombian will unleash his full potential at the club.
