There have been calls in the past for Kaizer Chiefs to find a playmaker that can carry the team and although they did not know it, head coach Nasreddine Nabi has unearthed one for himself.
Reference has always been made that Chiefs, based on their history, culture of success and their traditional way of playing, always had that arrogant midfielder, who would bring everyone into the game, through his confidence and ability on the ball.
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However, that kind of a playmaker, was missing from Amakhosi squads over the years, perhaps since they last won trophies with the likes of Reneilwe Letsholonyane.
Previous Glamour Boys coaches have tried players such as Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, George Matlou, Yusuf Maart, Lebogang Manyama, Kearyn Buccus, Sphelele Ntshangase, among others, without much luck.
However, Nabi has seemingly spotted those qualities Chiefs supporters wanted in a midfielder, with a different role for new signing Gaston Sirino than he was used to at his previous club Mamelodi Sundowns.
At Chiefs, in their opening Betway Premiership encounter against Marumo Gallants, Sirino was the link from defence to attack, spraying those defence-splitting passes and his positional awareness and quality on the ball, took Amakhosi's game to another level, where youngsters such as Mduduzi Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi, who scored the two goals in a 2-1 win, had the right platform to excel.
"He has proved himself, at Kaizer Chiefs, people are trying to put pressure and make it a one-man team. Chiefs is not a one-man team but he's putting something special into the team," former Orlando Pirates and Sundowns midfielder Lebohang Mokoena said on Radio 2000's Game On.
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"That creativity, that flow and he brings the youngsters into the game because he's got more experience. I think he can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and say guys, 'Let's get into the game!'.
"I think he's a great signing from Kaizer Chiefs and it will just allow the other players to feel free to express themselves, with no pressure," Mokoena added.
Although he is already 33, Sirino could raise the bar of the ideal number ten at Chiefs.
