First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

After years of waiting for his chance, Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma is knocking on the door of being made number one goalkeeper at the club. But with club legend Itumeleng Khune as well as the experienced Daniel Akpeyi still around, it won’t be easy to enter.

Kaizer Chiefs is known consistently to house quality goalkeepers. They’ve produced two Premier Soccer League (PSL) goalkeeping greats in Brian Baloyi and Khune.

They have also housed the likes of penalty-saving specialist Rowen Fernández, as well as former Bafana Bafana international Emile Baron.

The Soweto giants have an eye for spotting and moulding outstanding goalkeepers. Next in line is Bvuma.

Patience is a virtue

The 26-year-old has been with Amakhosi since being promoted from the development team in the 2016/17 season. He made just two appearances in his debut season. Since then, he has made fewer than 30 appearances.

He has seen the likes of Virgil Vries, Reyaad Pieterse and Brilliant Khuzwayo preferred as understudies to the then indispensable Khune.

During that period, he has kept his head down and worked on seizing the opportunity when it is handed to him. After some promising displays this past season, he finally did that emphatically during Chiefs’ first-leg semifinal fixture of the CAF Champions League against Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca on 19 June.

Bvuma’s favourite quote is: “Work in silence and let your success speak for you.” Against Wydad he certainly let the work he has been putting in in the shadows speak for him. Amakhosi walked away with a 1-0 advantage thanks to the heroics of the Krugersdorp-born shot stopper.

The result, which led to Bvuma also earning the player of the match accolade for his many saves against the two-time Champions League winners, left the goalkeeper in tears at the final whistle.

Speaking after that game, Chiefs assistant coach Arthur Zwane offered his thoughts on why Bvuma had burst into tears.

“I think Bruce is growing in stature. He’s been working very hard as a young man,” Zwane said.

“I told him to make sure we don’t concede and it will go a long way, especially for your career and it happened exactly how we planned it. Maybe that is why he broke down after the game because he was obviously happy not to concede.”

Golden future?

Khune’s once scorching career is winding down. In recent seasons the 34-year-old Amakhosi legend has been plagued by recurring injuries as well occasional dips in form.

Akpeyi, who arrived in Naturena two years ago as cover for Khune, is also 34 and has had fitness issues this past domestic season. That means if Bvuma can build on his recent performances, he will eventually be granted the honour of wearing Amakhosi’s coveted number one jersey for years to come.

“Bruce has been with the club for a long time now and the team’s management knows the talent he has. But ability sometimes is not enough. You need experience and it’s only playing games that can give you that. Sometimes you need to be thrown into the deep end, to see if you can sink or swim,” William Shongwe, another Chiefs goalkeeping legend, told the club’s website.

“Bruce has played a few league games and picked up confidence. And now he’s played big games, on the big stage. He’s played a big part in helping Chiefs come this far in the CAF Champions League and [has] shown he’s ready for big-time football.”

Bvuma has played a total of nine games in all competitions this season to date, keeping three clean sheets. Two of those three have come from Chiefs’ unlikely foray into the last four of the Champions League.

It is the first time in their decorated history that Amakhosi have found themselves this deep into the continental competition. Prior to this current campaign, they had only ventured as far as the preliminary qualification stages.

Baloyi, who was Chiefs’ goalkeeper when they won the African Cup Winners Cup (now the CAF Confederations Cup) in 2001, praised Bvuma for his resilience.

“When you have two experienced international goalkeepers ahead of you, you are always thinking ‘I will probably only play when they get injured’. As a young man, you sometimes get to a point where you don’t believe in yourself as much.

“But the coaches have rewarded Bruce and shown faith in him and he has come through and played a big part in the most important games,” said Baloyi.

“His time will come, or his time is now, it’s up to him to solidify his position… When you have a good game, you must strive to be even better in the next one,” added the man nicknamed Spiderman.

One man who will be enjoying the recent performances of Bvuma is newly appointed Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter.

Healthy competition between Bvuma, Khune and Akpeyi can only bode well for Amakhosi.

The two veterans will push Bvuma, and with the 26-year-old already having tasted the fruits of his labour, he will not be handing over his jersey easily.

This will motivate his rivals to pull up their socks, which in turn will benefit Baxter as he hopes to rejuvenate an Amakhosi side that ended the season in eighth place on the DStv Premiership log.

“I feel like I am ready to play more games,” said Bvuma a few weeks ago. “I believe that any of the goalkeepers we have at the club will perform if they get the chance to play because of the way we are working.”

Bafana Bafana future

Bvuma’s recent performances have seen him rewarded with a recall to the national team for the upcoming Council of Southern Africa Football Associations Cup.

Bvuma will be fighting it out with Golden Arrows’ number one, Sifiso Mlungwana, for the keeper’s jersey during the regional tournament, which kicks off on 6 July.

Bvuma made his senior national team debut in this very tournament, in July 2017. He bagged another two caps to complete his three caps, to date, for the national team.

He was also part of the travelling party during Bafana’s last Africa Cup of Nations campaign in 2019, although he didn’t make an appearance on the field during that competition.

Bvuma’s career can only grow from strength to strength from his recent performances. Even if he does not take possession of the number one jersey immediately, he has shown the patience and hunger that will see him own it in the near future. DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for free to Pick n Pay Smart Shoppers at these Pick n Pay stores.