FORMER Kaizer Chiefs new coach Nasreddine Nabi, right, with Fernando Da Cruz who served as his second assistant.
Image: Kaizer Chiefs on X
It is often said, “once bitten, twice shy”. But judging by growing reports that Kaizer Chiefs are eager to lure back a former coach, it seems the club may not have learned their lesson – or perhaps still does not know what they really want.
The Chiefs management, led by sporting director Kaizer Motaung Junior, are said to be in contact with Fernando Da Cruz over a potential return to the club to occupy the vacant head coach seat.
It’s a puzzling development. Chiefs are without a head coach because they fired Nasreddine Nabi late last year – the same man who had initially brought Da Cruz to the club as his assistant before leaving before the season even started.
Sure, Da Cruz is his own man. He has his own credentials, including the UEFA Pro Coaching license, and a traceable coaching record, which includes winning the Botola Pro League with AS FAR, but the fact that he was under Nabi’s leadership is a cause for concern.
The two tacticians joined heads in the past, aligning their coaching philosophies and visions to agree to work together in the first place, and before Da Cruz cut short his stay at Chiefs, it seemed he would be the right-hand man.
The Frenchman arrived in the country to lay the groundwork and foundation of the Nabi era as the rest of the contingent, including Nabi, were still in Rabat, finishing things off at AS FAR.
Given that the Nabi era will largely be remembered for ending a decade-long trophy drought, it remains unclear why figures closely linked to that period are still being associated with the club.
There are also doubts about how much influence Nabi’s coaching philosophy has left behind. If the aim was to preserve his legacy at Chiefs, the results suggest otherwise.
Former Nabi’s assistants, Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef, decided to stay at the club post Nabi’s sacking, taking up the co-coaches’ role. They started like a house on fire, being in contention for three trophies. But the wheels have come off. They are now pushing for a top-three finish to salvage the season.
Their recent poor run of form has angered some fans and club legends, calling for the board to dismiss them with immediate effect as they could pull the team further down, resulting in a third-successive finish outside the Top 8.
So, if anything is to go by from the reports of the club wanting Da Cruz back at Chiefs, it seems the supporters’ attempts to reach out to the board – through requests, and a march to the club’s headquarters – about the dismissal of Kaze and Ben Youssef are either ignored or unsustainable.
Chiefs need a fresh start, and not someone who has strong ties with their ex. That will show their willingness to start from scratch, and with a different purpose. For a long while, Chiefs have boasted a competitive squad, with a considerable amount of depth across the board. But they lack a coach who will combine the pieces together to form a sustainable puzzle.
In recent months, the names of Pitso Mosimane and Benni McCarthy have been mentioned for the Chiefs job. The duo even went publicly to declare their availability. But these reports have done little to move the Chiefs’ boss to consider being in contact with them.
Granted, the team has succeeded in the past with a foreign coach, including winning their last league title under Brit Stuart Baxter. But what aided Baxter's success was the knowledge he already had about SA football, having been the Bafana Bafana coach.
When Baxter was re-appointed, Chiefs learned the hard way that it wasn’t the wisest idea to turn to him to rescue the season, as the relationship was terminated even before the season ended.
But here are Chiefs, said to be making an SOS call to a former coach – a move that could very well come back to bite them.
*Mihlali Baleka is Independent Media's senior football reporter and a panelist on the group's soccer podcast, The D-Line, which is exclusive on our YouTube channel The Clutch