Kaizer Chiefs’ assistant coach, Cedric Kaze, has explained how head coach Nasreddine Nabi has remained heavily involved in the team’s perfect start to the new season, even while he is away on family leave.
Under the guidance of Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef, Chiefs have kicked off the 2025/26 campaign on a high note, securing victories in their first two Betway Premiership matches.
The Glamour Boys’ most recent triumph was a 1-0 win against Polokwane City FC on Wednesday night at a chilly FNB Stadium in Soweto, where a strong crowd of supporters turned out. This followed an impressive 2-0 victory over Stellenbosch FC in a sold-out Athlone Stadium to open the season last Sunday.
However, Nabi was absent from both games, as he had to travel back to Tunisia last Friday following a serious accident involving his wife.
While it is still very early in the new 30-match league season, Chiefs’ performances show significant improvement from the previous campaign, where they finished in ninth place on the log standings.
‘THE TEAM IS LED BY NABI’: KAZE ON COACH’S CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT AT CHIEFS
Kaze has revealed that Chiefs head coach Nabi has been involved with the team despite his absence, stating that they are in constant contact. But Kaze also emphasised that Nabi’s trust in his coaching staff is crucial to their progress.
“I’ll say that we are always in contact with the head coach. But he trusts our experience, he trusts our knowledge too,” Kaze stated, highlighting that he and Ben Youssef are on the field daily and have a firsthand understanding of Amakhosi’s dynamics, from training performances to player combinations.
“We are the people who are on the field every day, and the people who are on the field are those who feel the vibe. We see every day what is happening, the training sessions, who can do what, and who can do the different combinations as well. He trusts us to make the line-up, but as the head coach, he’s also informed daily.
Kaze insisted that Nabi is still in charge of the team’s technical direction, downplaying the importance of who is physically on the sideline.
“Let’s just say that the technical staff is led by coach Nabi, and it doesn’t matter who is on the line, and the only thing I will just say is that Kaizer Chiefs is winning, and that’s the most important thing,” Kaze concluded, reinforcing that the current winning streak is a direct result of Nabi’s leadership and the coaching staff’s execution of his vision.
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