The switch from Mamelodi Sundowns to Kaizer Chiefs has come with celebrations for Gaston Sirino as he seeks to provide the Soweto giants with a lift that they desperately need.
Sirino has followed in the footsteps of fellow South Americans – Leonardo Castro and Jose Torrealba – in playing for two of the Big Three on the domestic space.
It was in January 2018 that Castro moved directly from Chloorkop to Naturena, where he then spent four-and-a-half years.
For Sirino, he has made the move at the end of a six-and-a-half-year stay with The Brazilians, where he won seven league trophies in a row.
“Moving to Chiefs is all part of the job, which has come after a successful stay at Sundowns, where they always have a lot of players,” Castro exclusively tells KickOff from his base in South Carolina, USA.
“He was at Sundowns for almost seven years, winning trophies every season and has the experience that you cannot buy.
“But going to Chiefs is going to be a different experience and you cannot compare it with the budget of Sundowns.
“Everyone knows about the power of money at Sundowns, where they bought a player from Argentina (Matias Esquivel) and then moved him back a few months later.
“Other teams in South Africa don’t have the same budget as Sundowns and that is the truth.
“So, they can’t compete with regards to money.
“When you have the capacity to play a lot of players, you get to have a better squad.
“I see Chiefs have signed another defender (Inacio Miguel) and I hope it goes well for them and I wish him (Sirino) all the best because I still have a relationship with him.
“I have told Gaston the truth about Chiefs, and he knows it.
“Chiefs is a club that will treat you well and Gaston has already felt it.
“Truth is that if Chiefs want to play with youngsters, then it is going to be difficult to compete against [the] experience and quality of Sundowns, who are competing in North Africa.
“You cannot be celebrating kasi football players at Chiefs because that is for Sunday League football and not professional soccer.
“Soccer is about being quick in making decisions and some of the players need to have the hunger and desire to see themselves moving beyond Chiefs.
“Siyabonga Ngezana and Njabulo Blom were also listening and worked hard to move it abroad, but other players are still just enjoying being there even when not playing regularly.
“There are players with talent but no ambition at Chiefs.
“I was there at Chiefs and was honest about this and with the coach that they have now (Nasreddine Nabi), their fans deserve happiness now.
“It still hurts me that I never won trophies at Chiefs after losing the league title in the last game and lost the Champions League final,” says Castro.
