Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi is already grooming his charges for the looming and arduous traveling across the continent when their CAF Confederation Cup campaign starts in the new season.
Amakhosi are back in continental club competition after they defeated rivals Orlando Pirates 2-1 in the final of the Nedbank Cup at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban at the end of last season.
Netherlands off-season camp
Chiefs have just returned to the country after spending a couple of weeks in the Netherlands for their off-season camp. They played a number of friendly and practice matches against some Dutch clubs. And the coach is happy with their readiness for what is going to be a testing campaign. In Holland, they played against Vitesse FC, NEC Nijmegen, Utrecht, PEC Zwolle and FC Twente.
The Tunisian will have another opportunity to fine-tune his players when Chiefs play against Ghana’s top dogs Asante Kotoko in the Toyota Cup in Durban this Saturday.
“One of the conditions of having a good season is having a good pre-season. That’s where the foundation is laid. I feel absolutely optimistic about the upcoming season,” said Nabi.
“We didn’t only want quality opponents, we also wanted quantity. Parallel with this, we did some tough physical work at training. …We even did double-sessions on the day before a match. We did this to have the players play games feeling extremely fatigued.
Put pressure on players
“That was not only to prepare the team for the league season, but also for the CAF Confederation Cup games for which we will often have to travel for long hours. That’s when players will have to perform while feeling very tired. So, we saw a lot of positives in our training matches against very strong Dutch opponents. The players have started to understand the way I want them to play. And they jell well as a strong unit,” he added.
What also encourages the coach is the attitude of the players and the way the pre-season camp was organised.
“It was all extremely professional, from the hotel staff to the quality of the opponents. The weather was also amazing, which helped.
“We really pushed the guys hard during the training sessions in Holland. It was tough, extremely tough. However, they never complained. Always giving their best. That was inspiring to see.”
