Salomon Kalou and Lucas Radebe during the AFCON 2023 qualifies group stage draw at SuperSport Studio, Randburg on April 2022.
Image: BackpagePix
Derby week usually tightens jaws, but Salomon Kalou loosens the mood — turning colours, childhood nicknames and family legacy into a joyful Kaizer Chiefs love story.
As Kaizer Chiefs prepare for another emotionally charged Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates, there is laughter echoing through Naturena — carried by a man whose football passport is stamped with the biggest honours the game can offer.
Salomon Kalou may be 40 now, but his presence still commands attention. An Africa Cup of Nations winner, UEFA Champions League champion and Premier League title holder with Chelsea, Kalou remains one of Africa’s most decorated exports.
Yet in South Africa, it is not medals or memories of Stamford Bridge that have captured his heart. It is Kaizer Chiefs — and a story that begins long before he ever set foot in Naturena.
Speaking at the Soweto Derby press conference, Kalou was asked about his growing affection for Amakhosi. His answer came with a grin.
“Because of the colour,” he joked.
“The colour is similar to that of ASEC Mimosas (His boyhood club in Ivory Coast).”
What sounded like a throwaway comment soon turned into a family anecdote that links Ivory Coast, Soweto and one of South Africa’s greatest footballers.
“But also there’s a long story that involves Doctor Khumalo,” Kalou explained.
“My brother’s idol was Khumalo and we used to call him Khumalo growing up. I didn’t even know Doctor — I knew my brother as Khumalo.”
That brother is Bonaventure Kalou, a former Ivory Coast international who carved out a distinguished European career of his own. Bonaventure turned out for clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Auxerre and Feyenoord, becoming one of his country’s most recognisable forwards.
Long before Salomon lifted trophies in England, football was already a shared language in the Kalou household — layered with idols, nicknames and continental heroes.
“When I finally watched Doctor during AFCON and the World Cup, he’s a player that impressed me technically,” Kalou added.
“That’s the kind of players we like in my country.”
In a twist only football can produce, those childhood threads recently came together. Kalou visited Chiefs’ base, met Khumalo in person, and completed a circle that stretched across generations and borders.
“Now having the chance to go to the village (Naturena) and meet him, and create the link with my brother as well, I get to go home and tell him he owes me,” he laughed.
“Because I got him a Doctor Khumalo shirt.”
In a derby build-up usually heavy with pressure and prediction, Kalou’s story offers something lighter — a reminder that football’s deepest connections are often personal, not tactical.
For Kaizer Chiefs, having a figure like Kalou around is more than prestige. It is perspective. It is African football talking to itself — through colours, families and shared heroes.
And as the Soweto Derby approaches, while tension rises and margins shrink, Chiefs carry something priceless into the weekend: joy, history and a reminder that the game can still make even legends smile.