South African football giants Kaizer Chiefs made a triumphant start under new Tunisian manager Noureddine Nabi on Saturday, overcoming an early deficit to secure a 2-1 victory over Marumo Gallants in Bloemfontein.
Sekela Sithole put Marumo Gallants ahead with a goal just eight minutes in front of a full house of 45,000 spectators on the opening day of the 2024-2025 Premiership season.
Mduduzi Shabalala equalised for Chiefs in the 17th minute, and shortly after Marumo Gallants were reduced to ten men following a red card for Joseph Malongoane, 18-year-old Mfundo Vilakazi scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute.
Nabi was lured to Johannesburg after a season with Moroccan side FAR Rabat, where he guided the team to second place in both the league and cup.
The challenge for Nabi is considerable, as Chiefs, South Africa’s most popular club, have not won a trophy since their Premiership title triumph under English coach Stuart Baxter in 2015.
Before their dramatic decline, which led to numerous coaching changes, Chiefs had amassed a record 53 domestic trophies since their founding in 1970.
In a modern football landscape dominated by corporate ownership, Chiefs stand out as a family-run club, with former star Kaizer Motaung and his four children at the helm.
Nabi, who led Young Africans of Tanzania to the 2023 CAF Confederation Cup final, was initially linked with Chiefs last season. However, the move fell through as he insisted on bringing his own staff. After a ninth consecutive trophyless season, Chiefs finally agreed to his terms, allowing him to bring his assistants while redeploying several South African coaches.
Due to CAF club commitments involving four teams, including defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, the league season began with just three matches.
In another match, Polokwane City came from behind to secure a 2-1 home win against AmaZulu, thanks to an added-time goal from Thabang Matuludi. Nigerian Etiosa Ighodaro had given AmaZulu the lead, which was levelled by Bulelani Nikani just before halftime.
Meanwhile, a goal from Namibian Prins Tjiueza put Cape Town City ahead early against Royal AM, but Lesotho international Motebang Sera equalised late in a 1-1 draw in Pietermaritzburg.