Nasreddine Nabi’s post-match press conference after Kaizer Chiefs lost yet another preseason game on Saturday lasted a little over 15 minutes, but it was dominated by one question, which he sought to answer via a translator and then ultimately offered his broken English in an attempt at a clearer explanation.
Chiefs’ 2-3 penalty-shoot-out defeat against Ghana’s Asante Kotoko in the annual Toyota Cup at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium was their fifth loss in six friendlies this preseason.
To be fair to Nabi, it was largely an unmerited loss, with Amakhosi spurning a chance to win it with five minutes to go when Inácio Miguel sent his penalty wide and then Pule Mmodi’s effort was saved when a conversion would have guaranteed victory in the shoot-out.
But as his inquisitors reminded him in that presser, Saturday’s result was yet another defeat, which doesn’t bode well for Chiefs’ prospects when they kick off the new season next weekend.
“Results in friendly matches do not matter,” Nabi retorted, emphasising he was satisfied with his players’ overall showing and general interplay. “Compared to last season, we have improved, though there are areas that we need to work on.”
The Tunisian explained that Chiefs’ four defeats in five preseason games on the recent Netherlands tour could not be counted as meaningful, as their hefty training programme at times included two sessions a day, followed by a match the next day.
Compared to last season, we have improved, though there are areas that we need to work on.
— Nasreddine Nabi, Kaizer Chiefs coach
“Objectives of friendlies are clear for everyone,” said Nabi, as he switched to English, deciding not to use the services of his assistant, Cedric Kaze, who usually translates the coach’s French.
“I will give you an example: One of the friendlies, we played against a lower-division team, and we changed the whole team. I’m sorry, [since when] do we discuss preseason results? I know you, the media, want to say, ‘You lose, you lose’, but the objective of a friendly is not really to win after 90 minutes.”
Perhaps Nabi is right. As he enters his second season, which Chiefs will get under way with a match against Stellenbosch next Saturday, he’ll be judged on how coherent the team have become – and there were signs he was getting certain things right on Saturday.
New fullbacks Thabiso Monyane and Nkanyiso Shinga manned the flanks authoritatively, but finishing remains a concern as Chiefs struggled to penetrate Kotoko’s defence.
Ultimately, Saturday was just another day where Chiefs failed to win, though the result didn’t quite matter as Nabi highlighted several times.
But that failure to win matches already cost them dearly last season, and as a result, they missed out on the top eight that kicks off this weekend. That was mainly because Nabi’s men could not win any of their last 10 league – not friendly – matches.
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