Chiefs coach Nabi targeting Caf football next season via Nedbank Cup

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi says he turned Naturena into a football construction site in his pursuit of getting Amakhosi back into continental football next season. 

Chiefs have blown hot and cold this season and their only chance of silverware is in the Nedbank Cup, where they are up against Stellenbosch in their quarterfinal at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (6pm). 

Nabi said Chiefs are not only motivated to win the tournament because it comes with qualification for the Caf Confederation Cup next season, but also to start to re-establish Amakhosi’s culture as cup kings. He said Chiefs will do everything to dethrone holders Orlando Pirates. 

The other way to qualify for the Confederation Cup is finishing third in the Betway Premiership, but Chiefs will be in a tight battle with teams like Stellenbosch FC, Sekhukhune United, AmaZulu and TS Galaxy. 

Amakhosi are wallowing in eighth place in the league and while their 28 points from 20 matches leaves them only three adrift of third-placed Stellies, there are no guarantees Nabi's inconsistent charges can reel in that gap by May.

“We are in the process of construction and the most important thing is consistency,” Nabi said, adding that the club's managers and technical staff understand where the team is.

“At the moment, the performance of the team is like a zigzag, where sometimes it is better but sometimes it is poor. After analysing everything, I and the management understand where we are and what we need to do to go far.” 

Nabi stressed that reaching the Confederation Cup remains possible for Chiefs through the league and Nedbank. 

“We have to play both sides and there is not much of a difference on the log between us and the team that is third at the moment. There are only two [three] points between us, so it is largely in our hands. 

“For the cup, we have to do everything in our power but it doesn’t mean the only possibility to go to Caf competitions is through the Nedbank Cup.

“As a big club, we have to go back to the habit of winning trophies.” 

Nabi said Chiefs will be up against a difficult team in Stellenbosch, even though his team have won home and away against Steve Barker's side in the Premiership in 2024-15 — 2-1 in Johannesburg in January and 1-0 in the Cape last month.

After battling in the middle part of the league season as they lost players in the preseason and January transfer window, Stellies have moved up the table again with strong recent results. 

“It’s true we have played Stellenbosch before — cup games are different and we are going to play differently. It needs a lot of mental strength and patience. At the end of the day, someone will be out of the competition. 

“There are also a lot of tactical issues that we are not going to divulge here. We are expecting a tricky game but we will be prepared for it.”