HERMAN GIBBS
Thanks to local football’s grapevine, the Amakhosi faithful heard some time ago that Nasreddine Nabi would be the next Kaizer Chiefs coach.
It is Chiefs’ habit to be as quiet as a church mouse when there are developments, and their PR functions cease except to trot out the line, “wait for the official announcement”.
Hence, it came as a breath of fresh air for hordes of Chiefs fans to read that the 58-year-old Tunisian-Belgian mentor told the Tunisian media that he had accepted the head coach post at Chiefs.
Nabi was speaking after his AS FAR Rabat side lost 2-1 to Raja Casablanca in the Moroccan Throne Cup final on Monday night. Raja Casablanca are coached by former Orlando Pirates head honcho Josef Zinnbauer, who has former PSL coach Fadlu Davids as his assistant.
The Throne Cup final was Morocco’s final match for the season and that concluded Nabi’s duties for the club.
At the presser, he freely answered questions about his Chiefs link, likely incurring the wrath of the Motaung siblings who have been handling the day-to-day running of the club.
“I chose the Kaizer Chiefs offer because it is an honour for me to supervise a team of their value,” said Nabi, who previously angered the Motaung family after he spoke to the media a few months ago when Chiefs first approached him.
“At the same time, as a Tunisian and an Arab, I have this responsibility and this opportunity to learn about a different culture, football and socially. This is a gain I always aspire to, without giving myself too much value.
“I have never previously received interest from different teams as I receive today from Maghreb (north Africa), the Gulf or Africa, thank goodness.”
While Nabi is making his way to South Africa to kickstart Chiefs’ pre-season preparations, his assistants are already at work at the Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena. Nabi has been operating much like South Africa’s Pitso Mosimane who works with a team of assistants wherever he is appointed.
Nabi will be the highest-paid coach in the PSL.
Fernando da Cruz is the first assistant coach and arrived in Johannesburg last week. The 52-year-old Da Cruz is a former FAR Rabat technical director and holds a Uefa Pro Licence.
Khalil Ben Youssef, Nabi’s assistant at AS FAR Rabat last season, is the second assistant coach.
lyes Mzoughi, the goalkeeper coach, is already in the country. He is an experienced goalkeeper coach who has been working for the Mauritania national team and served several clubs in north Africa and the Middle East.
Nabi and his assistants will have a mandate to end the club’s trophy drought of nine seasons. They take over a team who have just completed their worst PSL campaign.