The Soweto giants will add the highly-rated tactician to their ranks
Kaizer Chiefs will add French-Portuguese coach Fernando Da Cruz to their technical team once Tunisian tactician Nasreddine Nabi takes over.
Nabi is reportedly set to complete his move to Chiefs once he leads Moroccan side FAR Rabat to the Throne Cup and will come along with his backroom staff with assistant coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Ilyes Mzoughi as well as Tunisian physical trainer believed to be accompanying him.
Now, according to SABC, highly respected Da Cruz will also be joining him to add more experience to the technical bench.
Nabi and Da Cruz have not worked together previously but the former is believed to value the knowledge of the latter who put in the structures at FAR Rabta that have served him so well at the Moroccan side.
Da Cruz worked as technical director at FAR Rabat in 2021 before he was made head coach when Sven Vandenbroeck left the club but was replaced by Nabi before the start of the current campaign.
Da Cruz has been without a club since May 2023
It seems no bad blood exists between the two men and they are now set to link up in South Africa to drive Chiefs forward.
While Chiefs will pay FAR Rabat a compensation for ‘poaching’ Nabi and his backroom staff, Da Cruz will not cost the Soweto giants anything as he has been without a club since May 2023.
The composition of Nabi’s backroom staff was a sticking point during negotiations with Chiefs last year as the Amakhosi sought to have him replace Arthur Zwane but the talks broke down when the PSL side did not agree to his demands.
Chiefs would go into the season with Molefi Ntseki before he was sacked and Cavin Johnson installed on interim basis but a disappointing 10th place finish saw the club go back in for Nabi and have seemingly agreed to his demands.
