Nabi rejects 'helicopter football' for Chiefs, cites club DNA

Nasreddine Nabi and his technical team. Photo credit: FreshOnSnap

Nasreddine Nabi is adamant that Kaizer Chiefs, under his guidance, will never play a style called "helicopter football" just to try and win games.

Helicopter football is when a team prioritises getting the ball forward quickly, often with long passes, clearances, or hopeful balls into the opposition's half, rather than focusing on intricate passing movements through midfield.

The Tunisian coach believes that this kind of play doesn't fit how Chiefs are supposed to play, as the Soweto giants are known for possession-based football, which involves lots of passing and attacking.

Under Nabi, who is in his first season, Chiefs have been struggling in the SA elite league. They are in ninth place and enduring a seven-match winless run. But, they can end their poor season on a high by winning the Nedbank Cup, as they have already qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup.

Amakhosi will take on their biggest rivals, Orlando Pirates, in the final of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday in Durban.

While understanding the pressure and criticism arising from the below-par performances, Nabi says compromising Chiefs’ style of play would undermine the "process" of building a team that can ultimately win games and deliver entertaining football for the club’s devoted supporters.

“I understand the fans, the critics, the results are very bad, and I understand, but I know why I am here. I don’t want to give too many excuses, I take responsibility and move to the future, with everyone in the same direction, taking the right decisions for the future,” said Nabi.

“I think we have made progress, I can give you an example, if I wanted immediate results, it’s possible, that when I started having some problems with fans, players – I could play low-block and helicopter football and I’m sure I wouldn’t lose the points as we lost this season,” he added.

“But honestly, Chiefs recruited me not to play a low-block. This is not the DNA of Chiefs. I need to respect the DNA of this club. It’s impossible that a big club plays a low-block for immediate results to make fans happy.

“We want to play the right football, Chiefs football, with results, the difference is here, I’m honest, I don’t work for myself here, for my CV only, but I work for the process to develop that style of play at Chiefs.”