Former Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer emerged victorious in a coaching duel against incoming Kaizer Chiefs boss Nasreddine Nabi, guiding Raja Casablanca to a 2-1 win over FAR Rabat in the Throne Cup final at Stade d’Agadir on Monday night.

This triumph completes the double for Raja, who had already secured the Botola League title by edging out FAR Rabat in the final game of the season, remaining undefeated throughout the campaign. Notably, Zinnbauer’s assistant coach at Raja is fellow South African Fadlu Davids.

Zinnbauer’s coaching career boasts the 2020/21 MTN8 title with Pirates, his first trophy as head coach, where they defeated Bloemfontein Celtic. However, his following season with Pirates saw an early exit from the MTN8 competition and the Soweto giants sacked him.

This match served as Nabi’s final fixture before taking the reins at Kaizer Chiefs, who parted ways with interim coach Cavin Johnson on Monday.

The tightly contested encounter saw a 1-1 scoreline at halftime. Both teams benefited from a cut-back and a defense-splitting passes to unlock the typically rigid defenses of North African teams. Yousri Bouzok provided a clinical finish from a first-half cut-back for Raja.

FAR Rabat responded through Amine Zouhzouh, restoring parity before the break. The game was briefly halted after the hour mark due to a barrage of firecrackers in the stadium, momentarily hindering player visibility.

However, Raja secured the win late in the game through Mohamed Boulacsout’s goal, clinching the Throne Cup and completing the domestic double for the season.

This defeat marks another near miss for FAR Rabat, the competition’s record holder with 12 titles, leaving them with a “so close, yet so far” feeling.