“I’m sorry, but since when do we discuss results in pre-season games?”
Starting off with this question, Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has fired back at the media for questioning Amakhosi’s poor pre-season form.
The Tunisian, who is in his second season at Chiefs, has insisted that pre-season results do not matter.
“We are in pre-season, and the objectives of the pre-season are detailed and predetermined for everyone that knows our team,” said Nabi, whose side lost on penalties to Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko in Durban on Saturday.
Chiefs have scored only three goals in six friendlies during pre-season.
In the Netherlands, they lost to Vitesse (1-2), Utrecht (0-4), Nijmegen (0-1), and FC Twente (1-2) and won against Zwolle (1-0).
“I give you an example: in Holland we played four games with teams from Eredivisie, the first division, and one game against a team from the second division, which is a big team but has administration problems.
“The objective of these games is not for results after 90 minutes. I already explained it to you (the media). I know you are smart, but you want this question. You are assisted by your colleague from Ghana, who asked me if it’s normal to lose in the pre-season. I’m not sure if it interests the people in Ghana that in the pre-season I lose.
“And you repeat… I’m sorry, but since when do we discuss results in pre-season games? I give you more information with all respect. You ask, ‘You lose, you lose, you lose,’ because I know the media, I have a course, and I know sports media. If you want to push the coach in one direction, push him.
“But as Kaizer Chiefs coach, I respect you. You know, in the Holland games, some games we play one day after another, against teams from the Eredivisie, senior teams, not development teams.
“Some games we play after a day with two training sessions, morning and afternoon; the next day we play. If I want a result and to win, it is not normal to have a program like that, but I don’t have one because I know my job, I know what’s needed,” Nabi added.
Chiefs will play their first official match of the 2025/26 season when they meet Stellenbosch on 10 August in Cape Town.
