By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Kaizer Chiefs have finally let out one of the worst kept secrets in South African football when they confirmed the appointment of Nasreddine Nabi as the new club head coach.
Chiefs made the announcement on Sunday evening.
“We are delighted to welcome coach Nasreddine Nabi to the Kaizer Chiefs family. We are happy to have you with us, coach,” Chiefs said in their brief statement.
We are delighted to welcome Coach Nasreddine Nabi to the Kaizer Chiefs family. We are happy to have you with us, Coach.
#Amakhosi4Life pic.twitter.com/rWcqqY3FP3
— Kaizer Chiefs (@KaizerChiefs) July 7, 2024
Nabi steered Rabat to second place in the tough Moroccan Botola top flight league in 2023-24. They ended with a 2-0 win in their derby against FUS Rabat but Raja’s 3-0 away victory against away Mouloudia preserved their single-point lead.
He has been tasked with restoring the Chiefs to the top of South African football after falling off in recent years.
Chiefs finished 10th in the league last season, and the club, arguably the biggest in the country, haven’t lifted any silverware since winning the back in 2014/15.
The closest they came to ending their league drought was during the 2019/20 season when they were cruising towards the title under German Ernst Middendorp.
The season was brought to an abrupt halt by the Covid-19 pandemic, and when it restarted again, they couldn’t build up enough steam to get over the finish line.
Chiefs on Thursday jetted off to Turkiye for their pre-season preparations without five of their stars due to injury. Ashley du Preez, Tebogo Potsane, George Matlou, Dillon Solomons and Mduduzi Mdantsane.
The club revealed that they will be based in the cities of Izmit and Istanbul during their tour of Türkiye, before returning to South Africa for the start of the new DStv Premiership season.