Chiefs Management Must Support Coach Nabi
Kaizer Chiefs remains the most popular club in South Africa, even with their lackluster performance over the past decade. The 2023-2024 season marked one of their poorest performances, as they did not secure a spot in the MTN8 tournament, finishing the season in 9th place in the DSTV Premiership, now known as the Betway Premiership.
Ngcobo2010 Sharp Eye has connected with one of the Chiefs’ notable supporters named Johannes Modiba. Johannes was born in Limpopo, in the city of Polokwane, specifically in a township named Seshego. He currently resides in Braamfisher, near Roodepoort, in Gauteng, where his affection for Amakhosi began in 1998, inspired by his brother’s influence to love and support Chiefs.
“I belong to a family with four siblings: my brother, my two sisters, and our parents.” “Everyone else was cheering for Orlando Pirates, and only my brother supported Kaizer Chiefs,” Modiba stated. “Whenever Chiefs played, my brother would make a ton of noise, especially during the Soweto Derby, which captivated me. My brother and I began to tease our other siblings, and that’s how my love for Chiefs developed.”
Modiba not only backs Chiefs but also supports soccer in general. In his early days, he also played soccer as a goalkeeper. “I engaged in amateur football extensively, and I was consistently a goalkeeper.” “My coach was Tshepo Maimane, a commentator at Supersport,” stated the lively Modiba.
His role as a goalkeeper was influenced by the ex-Kaizer Chiefs goalie Brian ‘Spiderman’ Baloyi. “Brian Baloyi is the person who made me to become the goalkeeper. His goalkeeping abilities captivated me, leading me to admire his game, and he turned into my role model,” said Modiba. “Aside from the Iwisa Charity Spectacular match, where we fell 10-9 to Orlando Pirates, we never lost any penalty shootout with Brian in goal,” Modiba concluded.
Johannes goes to almost all of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) games played in Gauteng, having begun to do so in January 2005. “My first game at the stadium took place in 2005 at Rand Stadium, where Chiefs faced Moroka Swallows where we lost by 1-0; however , the next weekend we rebounded and defeated Santos 4-1,” Modiba stated.
This (2024-2025) season, Kaizer Chiefs began energetically with a hopeful start, but as 2024 drew to a close, their performance declined, raising concerns among many Chiefs supporters. Modiba recalled the decade of drought in Naturena. “My fondest recent Chiefs memories were during the time when Stuart Baxter was our coach, and we claimed the league title and the MTN8.” said Johannes. “We were in Durban when Tefo Mashamaite netted the sole goal of the game, securing the trophy from Orlando Pirates, and Brilliant Khuzwayo was our standout player,” Modiba recalled.
“Since that time, we have not won any trophy. We then welcomed coach Steve Komphela, who led us to two cup finals—MTN8 and Telkom Knockout—but we were unable to secure victories in either.” said Modiba. “We were defeated by Ajax Cape Town and Mamelodi Sundowns, respectively,” stated Johannes. “I cannot comprehend why we lost those cup finals; our principal mistake was prioritizing quantity over quality in our signings. Our management changed their approach to acquiring quality players and began bringing in free agents, which proved ineffective for us.”
On January 1, 2025, the PSL transfer window opened, and Johannes has his list of players he hopes Chiefs will acquire. Modiba expressed, “I hope Chiefs will recruit Veli Mothwa, midfielder Nduduzo Sibiya from Golden Arrows and striker Yanela Mbuthuma from Richards Bay FC.”
“I still believe Veli Mothwa is a talented goalkeeper and with his experience, he has room for improvement. Take a look at Sipho Chaine from Orlando Pirates. He was quite inconsistent at his former clubs, but today he is the main goalkeeper for Pirates. Nduduzo Sibiya senses a gap created by Gaston Sirino, while Yanela Mbuthuma enjoys overpowering defenders in the area and can connect effectively with Ashley Dupreez,” concluded Johannes, who has a message for the Chiefs management.
“Chiefs have displayed inconsistent performance, and Coach Nasreddine Nabi is a strict coach who desires results; however, the players available to him are insufficient. Therefore, I urge the management to support him and acquire quality players as we are currently in the transfer window,” stated Modiba.
“I also want to commend all the Chiefs fans who support coach Nabi. They need to keep supporting him so that he won’t abandon us. Our fans should also avoid throwing items onto the field when the club is struggling, as this damages the club’s reputation,” concluded Modiba, whose aspiration for 2025 is to become a professional soccer analyst.
“In 2024, I volunteered as an analyst on various soccer platforms, but my life away from football was less favorable than when I was involved in it, as I received no payment for my efforts. My hope for 2025 is to find a platform that allows me to showcase my football skills while also compensating me simultaneously.”