Chivaviro reveals talks with Nabi that give hope of a better season for Chiefs

Ranga Chivaviro is eager to justify the hope many have in him to be a crucial attacker at Kaizer Chiefs after joining them from the relegated Marumo Gallants at the beginning of last season. 

Chivaviro, 31, scored 17 goals for Gallants in all competitions before their relegation at the end of the 2022-2023 season, and there was hope he’d be an instant hit at Amakhosi.

However, an injury in his first weeks at Naturena set him back, and with the club not performing, well he struggled to adapt. Chivaviro contributed only four goals in 20 league matches last season.

That poor return by the bulky striker, combined with Chiefs finishing 10th — their worst league position — means there needs to be vast improvement in the 2024-2025 season for Chiefs and Chivaviro.

The Soweto giants also to avoid going 10 seasons without a trophy.

How Chivaviro will fit into new coach Nasreddine Nabi’s plans will become clearer when Amakhosi travel to the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday (5.30pm) to meet Gallants.

Chivaviro is looking forward to working with Nabi and hopes the arrival of the 56-year-old Tunisian — who has done well in the past three seasons with Tanzania’s Young Africans, popularly known as Yanga, and FAR Rabat in Morocco — can result in an improvement in his  game.

“I want to resurrect that form [at Gallants] and hopefully it’s not just me but it’s all the guys,” Chivaviro said on Wednesday.

“We believe if we’re all on top of our game, we’re bound to win. That’s the mandate for us — to win games and put Chiefs on top, where we belong. It was a difficult first season for me and also for the team. I don’t know how many years we have finished outside the top eight, let alone not qualifying for Caf football.

“But we have a point to prove. We want to rise up and make sure it doesn’t happen again. The guys are looking hungry and motived and I don’t think we need more motivation than that we didn’t do well last season, and we owe it to ourselves to do better this campaign.”

Chivaviro’s first encounter with Nabi was when Gallants reached the semifinals of the 2022-2023 Caf Confederation Cup. He scored seven goals in that competition, including the one in the second leg of the Limpopo team’s 4-1 on aggregate defeat to Yanga in their quarterfinal matchup.

“It was one of the first conversations we had, me and him [when Nabi arrived at Chiefs in the off-season]. He reminded me of what I was doing and who I was and how he wants to see me as this season. We touched a little on this and that.

“He’s someone who wants to understand what’s going on with your life. We’ve had that conversation and it’s productive. We’re hoping this season will bring back that Ranga who was scoring goals regularly.”

Chivaviro said working with Nabi was refreshing but the good thing about it was he’s reminded everyone why they were at Chiefs. “For me, personally, it’s been a lot of learning. What’s important is he’s reminding us what Kaizer Chiefs is, and what it takes to be here. Being in this circle must mean you’re quality,” he said.

“He takes a lot of time to remind us of that, and tells us what’s expected to be a Chiefs player. We’re now used to what he expects from us as players and we know what we need to do this season — to bring back the glory days for this club.”