During their days at Mamelodi Sundowns, Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro were so unstoppable that the Brazilians faithful came up with the name the CBD connection.
The D represented the abbreviation of French-based attacker Keagan Dolly who was mesmerizing with that sweet left football, cutting inside from the right of left flank, depending on which song they were playing with Dolly on the day. Together with Percy Tau in the latter stages of the competition, this is the combination that delivered the maiden CAF Champions League title to Chloorkop in 2016.
Football fans were given glimpses of that combination last weekend as Billiat and Castro destroyed their former team as Kaizer Chiefs hammered Sundowns 4-2 in the Shell Helix Cup exhibition at FNB Stadium.
The Zimbabwean international says the hat-trick Castro scored last weekend will boost his confidence.
“He is a good player, we need him. Everyone needs him – He has been working hard, guys have been supporting him; the coaches have been supporting him. We are just happy he is scoring goals.”
At the beginning of last season when Billiat had just arrived from Sundowns, there was a promising start for Castro under the then coach Giovanni Solinas.
He scored three goals plus an assist in the first four matches of the season with Billiat contributing two goals and two assists in as many matches.
Billiat has more on what makes his combination with the Colombian tick.
From his days at Sundowns with Tau and to his last two games against Cape Town City in the Nedbank Cup and recently in the league, Billiat seems to enjoy the space that Benni McCarthy’s team gives to him.
Will he punish them in the Telkom Knockout on Saturday afternoon at Cape Town Stadium?
This has been a special week at the Chiefs Village in Naturena as the club’s chairman Kaizer Motaung celebrated his 75th birthday on Wednesday. Billiat says it’s fitting that they give him a present tomorrow by advancing to the quarterfinals of the TKO.
Meanwhile, Chiefs head coach Ernst Middendorp stopped short of saying he doesn’t see right-winger Joseph “Tight” Malongoane playing football anytime soon owing to a long term injury that is threatening to end his footballing career. Malongoane was a victim of a horrific tackle by former Free State Stars strongman Makhehleni Makhaula at the beginning of last season and that ankle injury sidelined him for eight and a half months.
He played 16 minutes of football action towards the end of last season against Golden Arrows and that was the last official game he played.
Middendorp recommended that his contract be renewed but now he admits that it’s impossible to play him. – Report by Velile Mnyandu
