KAIZER Chiefs have lost out on the services of the highly-rated Ayman Makroud, the first performance analyst of Morocco’s national team, the world’s No 12th-ranked team.
Although Chiefs never confirmed that he might join the technical staff of new coach Nasreddine Nabi, the media caught wind of his intention to join the Naturena club.
However, on Wednesday Makroud announced he was making a U-turn.
His Instagram post read: “Dear Kaizer Chiefs supporters, I deeply appreciate your warm messages, however, I regret to inform you that I will not be joining the club as planned.
“I have decided to pursue another project, which I will announce soon. Thank you for your understanding and support.”
Makroud worked for Moroccan outfit AS FAR alongside Nabi last season. Speculation is that Makroud will join Hussein Ammouta, the new coach of the United Arab Emirates club Al Jazira FC, who is Abu Dhabi-based.
About the same time Chiefs formally announced the appointment of the Tunisian-born Nabi.
Chiefs’ statement by sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jr read: “Kaizer Chiefs are delighted to confirm the much-anticipated appointment of Mohamed Nasreddine Nabi to the position of head coach of the men’s senior team.
“The two parties have agreed on a two-year contract with an option to extend it by one year.
“After what has been a fairly exhaustive vetting process, it gives us great pleasure to finally welcome our new head coach to Kaizer Chiefs. We believe we have found the right man to fulfil our vision of restoring Amakhosi to our rightful place at the top of the football pyramid, and we welcome coach Nabi and his technical team with the pledge of unity and support in pursuit of our common goal.”
Nabi brings a wealth of experience after coaching leading teams in various countries, including Libya, DR Congo, Egypt, Sudan, UAE, Tanzania and Morocco. He has won silverware in several countries and participated with distinction in African club competitions.
Among his accolades is a CAF Confederation Cup medal with FC Leopards in Congo.
The 58-year-old, who holds a Uefa Pro coaching licence, brings with him an experienced technical support team, which has worked in Africa and other continents.
Khalil Ben Youssef will be Nabi’s first assistant coach. He worked with Nabi last season at AS Far where they qualified the team for the CAF Champions League after finishing as league runners-up in Morocco.
He also worked with Nabi at Young Africans in Tanzania where they won back-to-back trebles. He will work closely with Nabi and his second assistant coach Fernando Da Cruz.
Just like the boss Nabi, Cruz has a Uefa Pro licence. The French-born Da Cruz has worked as a coach, technical director, scout and youth coach in Belgium, France and Morocco.
Ilyes Mzoughi will be the goalkeeping coach. He has worked for several teams in Africa and the Middle East, as well as the Mauritanian national team.
Mzoughi will team up with Khalil Ben Youssef and fitness coach Majdi Safi again after working with them at Stade Tunisien in the 2019/20 season.
Chiefs, presently in a training camp in Turkey, are gearing up for a pre-season challenge when they host the inaugural Toyota Cup on July 28 in Bloemfontein.
