Nabi confident battling Chiefs can stun Sundowns in Nedbank semis

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has confidence his struggling team can rescue a so-far terrible season by winning the Nedbank Cup.

The Tunisian boldly said this despite facing an uphill battle in having to beat Mamelodi Sundowns in their semifinal at Loftus Stadium on Sunday to progress to the final, where they would meet defending champions Orlando Pirates or Marumo Gallants.

Nabi's eight-month period at Chiefs has not been as rosy as it was expected to be, with the Amakhosi struggling in the Betway Premiership, where they've lost 10 matches, sitting uncomfortably eighth place with six matches left to finish what has been a tumultuous campaign.

But, speaking to the media at a press conferences at Nedbank's offices in Sandton on Thursday ahead of their showdown with Sundowns, a team that has beaten Chiefs three times in all competitions this season, Nabi expressed his hope of salvaging a mostly miserable season that forms part of an unprecedented nine campaigns in which the Soweto giants have not won a trophy. It will be 10 if they lose against Downs on Sunday.

“If we lose this game, there's no pressure. Each game we play has pressure, but I'm here to follow the process. The first year [of the two] was for the process of building our team.

“When we try to build our team and we get an opportunity like this one [to win a cup], we'll try to win this trophy because it's for the fans and the board. We always play to win a trophy because we're in a big team, Kaizer Chiefs.

“Every season in every competition you play, you must win. But like I said, there's no pressure; we're following our process. When we discussed [the situation] with the board, we said we're in a process for two or three years to build our team.

“After three years, then we'll have our team that can compete in the Champions League, for the league, and for the other trophies.

“If we get the opportunity to win this trophy, it will be amazing for us. It will give us more confidence to play for the board and for the fans. For us and the players, it will be good, but if we don't win this trophy, we have to continue to work.”

Nabi was asked how realistic his hopes are of beating a team that has dominates Chiefs this season, including a 4-0 thumping when they ousted them from the Carling Knockout.

Sundowns are seven-time defending league champions and look set to clinch an eighth. The Brazilians are also in the semifinals of the Champions League alongside Orlando Pirates after the South African sides beat Esperance of Tunisia and MC Alger of Algeria respectively in their quarterfinals of the last 10 days.

“We played three times against Sundowns, but except for the Carling game, they were close games despite not getting a lot of time to prepare. If you look at the first game [in the league], it was 2-1, and the second game in Pretoria was 1-0.”

“The level between the two teams was close. I think in the first game, even though some people don't want to accept it, I believe it was the referee's problem [that caused their defeat]. We had two opportunities to score, and we scored one, and also scored the second in the last minute, but the referee didn't want to accept it.

“Maybe if there had been VAR, we would have had a chance to score, and the game would have finished 2-2. In the second game in Pretoria, they had two opportunities, and we had three. They were lucky to score one, but we were unlucky not to score.

“Now it's game number four against them, and each team will have a chance to win this game. We know their weaknesses and strong points, and they know ours.”

Nabi decided to keep it a secret whether his two key players, defender Miguel Inacio and central midfielder Thabo Cele, who have been injured and missed a couple of their last league games, will be available or not on Sunday.