Nabi gets idea of task he faces as Chiefs’ quality exposed in Yanga drubbing

When Clement Mzize put the ball past stranded Brandon Petersen just before the hour-mark to make it 3-0, Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi put his hands on his hips, looked down and shook his head.

Young Africans, the Tanzanian outfit popularly known as Yanga, were in control of Sunday's Toyota Cup preseason friendly at Free State Stadium and there were still 30 minutes on the clock in Bloemfontein, with Chiefs’ old problems of lack of quality exposed.

One sensed it was at this moment when Nabi — facing the side he coached with success, including two league titles — realised the magnitude of work he needs to do at Naturena for Chiefs to regain anything close to their former glory because he is overseeing a team that is bereft of star quality.

It is still preseason and there will be arguments Chiefs are still dusting off the cobwebs and undercooked, but the reality is Amakhosi were no match for this experienced combination who prevailed 4-0.

There has been a feel-good factor at Chiefs over the past few weeks since the arrival of Nabi but Sunday's result will force fans to face the reality that their team will have to improve quickly if they are to be competitive in the Betway Championship in the coming season.

Yanga, who have been in the country for about three weeks, playing against TS Galaxy and German side FC Augsburg in the Mpumalanga Premier's Cup in Mbombela, were the better side by a mile.

Coach Miguel Gamondi fielded his strongest possible side — which included Ibrahim Abdullah, Dickson Job, Khalid Aucho, Clement Mzize, Prince Dube and Duke Abuya — and they gave Chiefs all sorts of problems.

In Nabi’s first high-profile match in charge of Chiefs, they were outclassed by a Yanga that reached the knockout stages of the Champions League last season, where they were knocked out by Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarterfinals.

The Chiefs fans who packed the venue arrived hoping to get a glimpse of how their team will shape up in the coming season, but they were witness to a lethargic and concerning performance.

In central defence, Nabi went with what may be his best partnership of Thatayaone Dithlokwe and Given Msimango, supported on the right by the experience of Reeve Frosler.

The new coach's surprise inclusion in defence was to start with Nkosana Mbuthu, the son of former Chiefs superstar Patrick, at left-back and the 19-year-old, normally a midfielder, looked out of sorts.

Nabi also refreshed the midfield where he started with a combination of Yusuf Maart, who captained the side; Samkelo Zwane, Mduduzi Shabalala and Mfundo Vilakazi, with Ashley du Preez and Ranga Chivaviro leading the attack.

It is worth noting that Zwane, 22, Shabalala, 20,and Vilakazi, 18, did not get enough and consistent game time last season under Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson. But they need to improve if they are going to play an important role for the team in the coming season where they will be desperate to avoid another campaign without silverware.

Yanga opened the scoring after 24 minutes through Dube who pounced on a ball that bounced off Msimango after a melee in the box where Chiefs failed to clear the danger.

They increased their lead shortly before the break when Aziz Ki beat Chiefs goalkeeper Brandon Petersen after Mbuthu needlessly gave the ball away in a dangerous position.

Just before the hour-mark Mzize took the match away from Chiefs when he put the ball beyond Petersen after Chiefs' defence was caught napping and Ki registered his brace in the 63rd minute.

When the final whistle sounded Nabi put on a brave face and applauded his players. There is no doubt he knows there is a mountain of work to be done to turn the fortunes of this once mighty club around.