Kaizer Chiefs have kept only one shutout in 2024-2025 but coach Nabi denied his team has any major defensive issues to address.
Chiefs boss says conceding goals ‘is normal’
“It is normal in football to concede goals,” he said to the official website.
“Magesi, our opponent yesterday, in the previous round of the cup scored three goals against the league leaders (Orlando Pirates).
“Against all our opponents, except probably Sundowns, they have got maybe one or two opportunities to score. Probably most of the time they have taken those opportunities, but that shows as well that our defence has been doing some good work.
“But we (also) can’t hide that there is room for improvement.”
Pirates leading the way in almost all departments
Sure, he’s right that Pirates conceded three against Magesi in a freak cup game, but the Buccaneers have only conceded twice all season in six Betway Premiership matches, winning all six of them. Perhaps some of this was lost in translation? It’s well known that Nabi is still mastering the English language and has made use of interpreters. New assistant boss Cedric Kaze, fluent in six languages including English, will surely help in this regard.
A new ‘Invincible’ joins the ranks
Cedric Kaze was unbeaten with Yanga for 21 matches, including 17 in the league and four outings in the Mapinduzi Cup. The new man in the Chiefs dugout knows what it takes to take the reins at a big club after serving as head coach of Young Africans for five months. Kaze steered them to their first Mapinduzi Cup win in three years. Ex-Yanga striker Yusuph Athuman has highlighted Kaze’s ability to keep clean sheets as a major strength.
“He excels at organising defences and would be a valuable asset in that role. As head coach of Yanga, his teams consistently maintained clean sheets and were known to be strong defensively,” Athuman told FarPost.
“Even when he was coaching Namungo after leaving Yanga, the Yanga of last season that would easily score five goals in one game toiled to get a win over him. They scored a last-gasp winner and won 1-0 in that fixture.”
Chiefs meet Sundowns in the Carling Knockout quarters
After sitting out the 2-2 draw with Magesi because of an accumulation of yellows, impressive Angolan Inacio Miguel should return alongside Rushwin Dortley in the heart of defence defence. Wandile Duba and Samkelo Zwane are also potential returnees. It’s also highly like Gaston Sirino will be picked against his old side. It’s a toss-up between Wandile Duba and Mfundo Vilakazi for a wide attacking berth. However, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo could come out of the side as he gradually finds full fitness after numerous injury setbacks.
What do you think about Nabi’s comments here?
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