Chiefs on track under Nasreddine Nabi Nasreddine Nabi's Kaizer Chiefs are on track to win a first trophy in a decade after beating Mamelodi Sundowns in the semi-final of the Nedbank Cup, setting a final date with Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates.
Image: Itumeleng English, Independent Newspapers
SUCH has been Kaizer Chiefs' inconsistency this season that every time they see a light at the end of the tunnel it’s actually an oncoming train.
But after Sunday’s miraculous Nedbank Cup semi-final win against Mamelodi Sundowns, coach Nasreddine Nabi may feel that they are finally on the right track.
It’s been a season of extremes for Amakhosi in the Tunisian tactician’s first campaign in charge of the team. Their form has essentially been bi-polar, with Chiefs regularly mixing the sublime with the daft. Their league and cup form suggest just that. With eight wins, six draws and 10 defeats in the Betway Premiership, the Soweto giants are currently in a battle to qualify for the top eight, a staggering 28 points behind league leaders Sundowns.
But on Sunday it didn’t look like they were 28 points inferior, which would have given Nabi a lot more hope of turning the club’s fortunes around than he had a week ago. The win over Sundowns will also take the pressure off Nabi, as they now have the opportunity to win a major piece of silverware when they take on fierce rivals Orlando Pirates in the final of the Nedbank Cup.
Nabi knows his job at Chiefs is far from done and he looks desperate to prove to the fans that he is the man to lead the Soweto giants back to the promised land. It’s why he wants everyone to “trust the process” after he was asked on Sunday night if he fears losing his job after such a rollercoaster campaign.
“You’re asking if I’ll stay next season … I have to tell you that my contract is for two seasons, but it’s not me who decides, for me, I have a process,” Nabi said. “The difference between me and how other people think is that they are thinking of results, and I’m thinking of process. If we think like that, we are not speaking the same language; one is speaking French and the other is speaking English.
“As I have said to you, I have a process, and that process is based on how we play, how we give chances to the DDC players. We’re talking about Mduduzi Tshabalala, Mfundo Vilakazi, and Wandile Duba.
“I’m not here to say that I deserve or don’t deserve to stay at Chiefs, there’s a board and they analyse the situation. They see every training session and the meetings before and after the game.
“They’re [management] seeing what we’re doing, and if they think we don’t deserve to stay next season, we’ll go. If they say I deserve to stay, then I’ll stay. I have a process and objectives, and I trust in my process.”
The Sundowns result has given Nabi a great lifeline. Hopefully, for Chiefs fans’ sake, they can finally get on the right track and let the light shine on their faces at the end of the season.
@JohnGoliath82
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