Nasreddine Nabi’s Kaizer Chiefs’ revolution is on track and the club’s fans can be excited about the future under his guidance.
Chiefs may have lost Saturday’s clash against Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1, but they looked a completely different unit to the one that was beaten 5-1 by the same opponents a mere four months ago.
On that day in May, a low-on-confidence Chiefs were in sixes and sevens as Sundowns showed why they’ve been the undisputed kings of South African football for the last seven years.
On Saturday, sporting the iconic black and gold stripes of yesteryear, Chiefs went toe-to-toe against their more illustrious rivals, and could have walked away from the game with something had VAR been in use in the Betway Premiership.
The introduction of VAR is a conversation for another day if sports minister Gayton McKenzie gets his way and has a sit down with the PSL and SAFA.
Chiefs captain Yusuf Maart was a menacing presence in midfield alongside Brazilian Edson Castillo, and the two of them managed to limit the space for Themba Zwane to operate.
The trio of Wandile Duba, Mduduzi Shabalala and Gaston Sirino were lively, while Ranga Chivaviro made sure the Sundowns were constantly on their toes.
At the back, the combination of Ignacio Miguel and Rushwin Dortley were solid, reminiscent of when Tefu Mashamaite and Erick Matoho marshalled the defence. Bradley Cross looks like a good signing, while Reeve Frosler was once again ever-present.
In goal, Fiacre Ntwari looks like he’s going to be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Itumeleng Khune, Brian Baloyi and Eshele Botende.
The team assembled by Chiefs looks like one that will be remembered for ages, but first they have to produce on the field, and the work that Nabi has done, it looks like they will be good this season. All the pieces are there, and they should let Nabi cook.
In their first game, they reacted well after going a goal down and went on to win. Against AmaZulu, they were devastating. And against Sundowns, they were genuinely good.
Kaizer Chiefs and Nabi need the buy in from their fans. When Chiefs are playing well, their fans are happy people — sorry, Pirates. And when Chiefs fans are happy, they fill up stadiums. You can see that when you compare the attendance at Saturday’s match to the same fixture last season.
Sport’s Michael Sherman wrote last week that a successful Kaizer Chiefs is good for South African football. Saturday’s clash at a sold-out FNB Stadium was proof that he was 100% correct.
Chiefs fans now have to go out there and fill up FNB Stadium whenever the tea play at home.
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