As Kaizer Chiefs prepare for their first cup final in four years, the legendary Doctor Khumalo’s pre-season prediction resonates ahead of Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final.
Chiefs will face off against their bitter rivals, Orlando Pirates, in a highly-anticipated final set for the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Ahead of the 2024/25 season, Khumalo, hailed as one of the brightest talents ever to don Amakhosi colours, emphasised that it would be a challenging season for coach Nasreddine Nabi. ‘Mdokisi’ had spent over an hour with the Tunisian mentor, who outlined his plans for the club as he prepared for his first season in the Betway Premiership.
Since then, it has been a difficult season for the 59-year-old coach, characterised by inconsistent performances. Currently, Chiefs sit in ninth place in the Betway Premiership, with just eight wins from 26 games and an unpleasant record of 12 losses. Their struggle to find the back of the net has been evident, as they have only scored 24 goals.
On a brighter note, Chiefs have been prolific in the Nedbank Cup this season, scoring more goals than any other team. Remarkably, the last time they recorded more goals leading up to the final of this competition was during the 1998/99 season.
WHAT WAS DOCTOR KHUMALO’S PREDICTION ON NABI?
“I don’t want to put pressure on him [Nabi] because it’s going to be difficult,” Khumalo told SuperSport TV ahead of the Toyota Cup clash against Tanzanian giants Young Africans.
“Kaizer Chiefs is crawling, and at the same time, we’re expecting them to sprint. Slowly but surely, he’ll make sure that we’re fixing what has been broken in terms of the structure of the team. He believes in a lot of the youngsters.”
Khumalo, who previously worked as assistant coach at the Soweto giants, went on to predict that Nabi “might win a trophy” in his first season. “What I can say is that he might win a trophy,” he concluded.
It remains to be seen whether the former Young Africans and AS FAR Rabat mentor will be the man to end Chiefs’ 10-year trophy drought.
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