Ivan Bukenya, defending Chiefs

Now here is a guy in the Kaizer Chiefs squad that polarises opinion, from rival fans mocking his age, Chiefs fans that think he’s a terrible slow defender and those that appreciate his efforts playing in an unnatural position. A defensive midfielder by trade, Junior Gong has in recent times been deployed as a centre back due to various reasons, from unconvincing centre backs available in the squad to unending injuries. Playing in his third season for the club, which is proving to be his most successful in terms of appearances, he has played all but 7 of Chiefs games this season, a good number for a player who spent the last two seasons in the fringes. As much as he has garnered plaudits for his performances when filling in for Katsande in the middle of the park, the critics have had a field day with some of his performances in the heart of the Kaizer Chiefs defence. Is he a bad player? Let’s look at his performances in detail.

MTN8

With little to no options on who to field in the centre of defence, coach Steve Khompela opted for the combination of Siyanda Xulu and Ivan Bukenya in the first game of the season. This was a game to forget for the Chiefs number 30 (for his defensive partner too), beaten for speed on Maritzburg United’s first goal after Xulu over-committed on a 50/50 aerial challenge, with the game reading 2-0 to Maritzburg United going into the half time break, Junior Gong was not having a good day at the office. Kaizer Chiefs went on to win the match 5-3 with Xulu scoring for both sides. Bukenya sat out four league games on the trot before returning as a substitute for George Lebese in the 75th minute against Bloemfontein Celtics, he put in a solid display that saw Chiefs run out 1-0 winners in this semi-final encounter. He did not feature in the 1-0 loss in the final against Ajax Cape Town.
Overall performance: 5/10

TKO

The first game couldn’t have come at a better time for big Ivan, after some convincing league performances, he was once again entrusted with marshalling the defence and he did it with aplomb. Kaizer Chiefs went on to win the game 3-0, Bukenya was immense and composed throughout the game. He repeated the good performance in the quarter-final encounter against Black Aces with Amakhosi triumphing 2-1 on the day. In the next semi-final game against Orlando Pirates he was deployed at centre back again, this encounter coming just a week after their 3-1 embarrassment at the hands of Ezimnyama in the league. The Chiefs number 30 put in a solid display in his position though he missed a seater that would maybe have endeared him to the Chiefs supporters, unfortunately he let that train pass, Chiefs ended up winning the game on penalties. He did not feature in the 3-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in the final to forget.
Overall performance: 8/10

PSL

Having missed the first 4 games of the campaign, Bukenya was roped in against Supersport United for the rested Willard Katsande and he put in such a great performance, if there was a deputy man-of-the-match for every PSL game, Bukenya would have been one here. Ivan’s positional awareness and passing abilities were on show, he even notched a headed goal in the 4-1 route, he protected the defence well in his natural position. He was back in defence for the encounters against Jomo Cosmos and Mpumalanga Black Aces, his contribution on both games was decent, he performed his duties as expected. Then came the 3-1 mauling at the hands of Orlando Pirates, ever so often when a team puts in a horror performance, soccer fans will look for a scapegoat and it’s usually the guy they like the least, not to say Bukenya is less likeable but if Chiefs fans had to choose between him and Mathoho to blame, Bukenya would win the vote by a landslide. The centre back pairing of Eric Mathoho and Ivan Bukenya found it impossible to contain the hot striking pair of Gabuza and Erasmus on the day, as we all know that game did not end well, but Bukenya’s performance would be echoed more than that of his partner, who was actually beaten on a one-to-one that led to a goal, it would become easy for the critics to blame him for everything after this game frankly because he is no Mathoho, better him than their beloved Tower. In the 3-1 win against Arrows, he again put in a decent performance besides missing a good chance in the game, he was unused in the 1-1 draw against Maritzburg United

Overall performance: 7/10

First of all Ivan Bukenya is a defensive midfielder performing better than most PSL defenders (look at the amount of goals conceded on the log) as a makeshift centre back, we all know he is not the fastest defender around, but the guy has been decent, at least if we look at it game by game, his only undoing were the missed opportunity and one bad performance against Orlando Pirates. Overall Bukenya has carried his duties in a commendable fashion, former Kaizer Chiefs defender Fabian McCarthy had this to say about him recently,

No doubt Bukenya is one of the best defensive midfielders in the team, his positional awareness and swift passing are traits of a terrific player, with more games in his natural position, Bukenya could become an elite player for Amakhosi. With Daniel Cardoso and Morgan Gould back in contention and Gordinho convincing again, maybe it’s time Bukenya gets minutes in the DM position to fulfil his potential, whether Steve Khompela believes in him or not, that’s up to him. We all know it will be tough to match Katsande’s commanding character, but Bukenya has the quality to redefine the DM position for Amakhosi, he only needs Steve’s faith.