The striker joined Amakhosi in January from their title rivals and has enjoyed a revelation in terms of playing time.
Colombian striker Leonardo Castro has identified Saturday’s game against Bloemfontein Celtic as a must-win for Kaizer Chiefs.
Amakhosi were handed a lifeline on Wednesday night as title favourites Mamelodi Sundowns could only manage a 1-1 draw against Free State Stars, despite Percy Tau grabbing the lead within the first five minutes. The result has blown the PSL race wide open, with Ea Lla Koto, Masandawana, Chiefs and Orlando Pirates all within six points of one another.
“You never know what is going to happen in football,” Castro told the Mail & Guardian. “We need to be focused, we need to take our chances in the matches. After this we’ll see what happens in the table.”
“Every single match is difficult. We need to be focused in this match. It’s key for us to get closer to Sundowns, we need to win the match to put pressure on them.”
“Now we fight for the PSL and Nedbank Cup titles. We need to take those games seriously to win the trophies because I know Chiefs is hungry for titles.”
While the Colombian’s team will add the Nedbank Cup to their fixture list, the Brazilians will have to do battle in both the cup competition and the CAF Champions League. Castro, however, feels Sundowns’ fixture congestion won’t make anybody else’s life any easier.
“I was with Sundowns, so I was playing CAF, PSL and Nedbank Cup … you just need to rest. So I don’t think it’s an advantage for us. We need to check ourselves only and be concentrated on our game.”
The striker joined Amakhosi in January from their title rivals and has enjoyed a revelation in terms of playing time. He believes he will continually get better due to the confidence showed in him.
“I started slowly, slowly because obviously it’s different players that I found in the team,” he said “I’m still learning about all of the players. Obviously, they need to know about me too, the way I play. It’s much easier when you’ve played more games together.
“I’m playing again so I’m happy for that because I was struggling for game time. Now the staff, coaches and teammates have given me confidence again. So now I’m happy to be back on the field to show the coaches and everyone what Leo can do again.”