Nabi Reveals Plan With Chiefs’ DDC Stars

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has revealed how he and the club’s hierarchy plan to manage academy players, with the Soweto giants boasting a host of potential first-team players in their DStv Diski Challenge [DDC] team.

With the reserve side on course to clinch a first-ever championship, Amakhosi are spoilt for talent in their youth ranks with players such as Naledi Hlongwane, Takalani Mazhamba, Kabelo Nkgwesa, and Aden McCarthy amongst others touted for promotion to the first team.

McCarthy, the DDC captain, who has been instrumental in the club’s title chase, was included in the matchday squad against Mamelodi Sundowns in the semi-final. The Chiefs’ coach says the plan is to carefully integrate promising youngsters into the senior team while rebuilding the squad.

“The plan of the season we discussed with the board is that we must build a team, and also, we have to keep [an eye on] our younger players, DDC players, and give them a chance. You saw [Wandile] Duba was one of the best players in the game [vs Sundowns],” said Nabi, as translated by Khalil Ben Youssef.

“Aden [McCarthy] is with us, and every time we try to bring a player from DDC, they can make a [training] session with us, and we see if they are ready because we don’t think about how old you are. If they deserve to play, they must play – it’s not about age.

“There are a lot of players, [Nkosana] Mbuthu, Pelembe [Ozoemena Manqoba]. Don’t forget Mbuthu, you remember the Yanga game [in pre-season].”

However, while he is a fan of mixing youth with experience, Nabi cautioned against throwing academy players into the deep end at a club of Chiefs’ magnitude, where the stakes are always high. 

Moreover, the 59-year-old tactician says McCarthy was set to start against Sundowns, but two of his players insisted on playing despite carrying some injuries.

“If there wasn’t pressure like at Kaizer Chiefs, you can give the younger players a chance already but when you have a lot of pressure and results are not very good, you have to manage which time you put them to start to playing because if you put them in bad situations, you can kill the careers of these players, so for that we manage, ” added the Tunisian mentor.

“There are a lot of young players, but we were waiting for the right time to put them. Aden was maybe 90% [close] to start this game. He was a starter, but I have to thank the medical staff for preparing [Edmilson] Dove and Zitha [Kwinika] for us.

“And thanks to the players because some players, when they get injured, can decide they can’t play this kind of game, a semi-final against Sundowns, scared for themselves, but big mentality and sacrifice from [Edmilson] Dove and Zitha [Kwinika], and I have to thank them.” 

Amakhosi will travel to Eastern Cape to tackle Chippa United in Gqeberha at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday (17:30) as they aim to snap a four-game winless run and return to winning ways in the Betway Premiership.