“It will all be resolved in 58 hours.”
So said Nasreddine Nabi when the Sunday Times got hold of him to inquire about his being linked to Kaizer Chiefs.
The 58-hour timeline ends on Sunday but by on Saturday there was still no indication that Chiefs had signed a deal with Nabi.
In his first interview with South African media since he was associated with Amakhosi a few weeks ago, Nabi said he expected the conversation between him and Chiefs “to be completed in no more than 58 hours”.
On Saturday Nabi, 58, did not respond to calls to reveal the latest of his week-long courtship with Amakhosi.
When he spoke to the Sunday Times from his Belgian home on Thursday afternoon, Nabi sounded confident that club and coach were close to clinching a deal to make him the seventh Chiefs coach in eight years.
“At this moment it is very difficult [for me] to give you any information. First, we have a big respect for you and your media responsibility in this moment,” he said “but we continue the negotiation with the leadership of Kaizer Chiefs via my agent and maybe in the next 58 hours we will be clear if we have finished everything.”
He would not be drawn to discuss details of why the negotiations have dragged and he declined to delve into finer details.
“I can’t give detail like that to you for respect to Kaizer Chiefs. I don’t want to speak about what is the problem in the negotiation. I’m sorry for that, my friend,” he said. “I’m in Belgium right now. Tomorrow (Friday) I, my wife, son and daughter are travelling to Tunisia to see my father and mother.”
An insider said “two points of disagreement were the root cause” for the lengthy delay in agreeing terms.
“The first is the money and the second is that Nabi does not agree that he would have to work with the current head coach as his assistant. I spoke to him last night (Wednesday). He was in Belgium.
“Nabi wants to do his own thing with his preferred staff members. I think that is what will break the deal if neither party relents.” The source said Nabi has never set foot in South Africa to talk to Chiefs.
“They have had meetings with him on Zoom and spoke over the phone. The initial conversation started with his representatives talking to the Chiefs sporting director Bobby [Motaung, Chiefs’ football manager] and they also spoke to the man directly.”
Nabi wants to do his own thing with his preferred staff members. I think that is what will break the deal if neither party relents
A double treble winner in the Tanzania Premier League, Naby has a pedigree that promises long suffering supporters that the Tunisian, boasting a tally of six trophies from the last two seasons, could restore the club to its former glory.
A Chiefs official said yesterday that “Nabi was appointed by the media. The sad thing is that Arthur [Zwane] will now feel uncomfortable and unsettled by this pursuit of Nabi.
“These stories have put pressure on Arthur and the expectation has been created for supporters [but] things that are unconcluded.”
As the hours pass, it looks increasingly that the status quo will remain with the much maligned Zwane steering the ship into next season. His assistant Dillon Sheppard will remain in charge.
Chiefs players reported to the clubs’ Naturena Village base on Tuesday with Zwane in tow. They underwent medical checks on Thursday.
On Friday the club’s Twitter handle flooded the timeline with pictures of players posing in clothing by new technical sponsor Kappa. The new jersey for the season will be unveiled in coming weeks.
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