After all what has been said about Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi's attendance of the Orlando Pirates match in Orlando on the eve of his team's fixture away, a former member of the Amakhosi 'family' has weighed in.
Following Chiefs' disappointing 2-0 loss to Polokwane City at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, social media has been a hive of activity with the discussions about the Tunisian tactician's attendance of the Pirates v Al Ahly CAF Champions League match Es'godini the previous day.
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Whether or not such debates would have originated had Chiefs won, or if any of the questions would have been asked is a topic for another day, but what is noticeable is that Nabi has been a regular attendee at Orlando Stadium for Bucs' matches.
Since day one, when the Buccaneers played their first official match of the season in the MTN8 against SuperSport United, Nabi was one of the attendees in Orlando.
While it is not unusual for coaches to attend matches as part of their planning for opponents, and everything else they feel they should be there for, as part of the job, it seems the loss for Chiefs didn't sit well with some of the supporters as the questions on social media started soon after the final whistle in Polokwane.
Former Chiefs midfielder Humphrey Mlwane defended Nabi, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
"I honestly don't see any problem in the coach attending the Pirates v Al Ahly game in the afternoon when his team was scheduled to leave for their game in Polokwane later in the evening for the following day. As a coach you learn every day, and I'm sure him going there wasn't just about fun and to watch football for enjoyment but as part of his job. He might have been planning to get one or two players who played in that game for his team, you may never know as things happen in football. That was a high-profile game, I mean Pirates and Al Ahly, I would have also loved to watch that game being a coach myself as part of learning things in this industry of ours. He might have his qualifications and the experience in the game, but it doesn't stop there. He can't sit and say that is all that he can rely on, he still needs to watch other games to see how other teams and coaches do things, it's part of the process," Mlwane told Soccer Laduma.
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"I mean, this is the coach who is still to face Pirates in a derby and why people don't think it is important for him to watch Pirates' games when he's got a chance to do so? My only disappointment was that Chiefs went on to lose the game against Polokwane City. I think the team has problems at the back and they will need to look at that carefully and quickly to improve. I mean, going down 2-0, I was shocked that it could be as that bad against Polokwane City but such is football, I guess," concluded Mlwane.
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By Masebe Qina
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