Raja Athletic Club head coach Nasreddine Nabi masterminded his charges to a second win on the trot and back in the title challenge conversation following a hard-fought 2-1 win over CODM on Sunday.
The match was marred by lack of discipline which saw two players being sent off, but it was also the result former Kaizer Chiefs mentor Nabi would’ve wanted.
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After getting his Raja tenure off to a slow start, drawing 1-1 against Union Tourga, the Tunisian coach picked up his first win in a seven-goal thriller against Renaissance Zemamra as they ran out 4-3 victors.
The win lifted Raja into third position in the Botola Pro, three points adrift of leaders AS FAR with four games left.
Against CODM, it was the hosts who opened the scoring through Aymen Barkok in the 43rd minute before Oussama Daoui equalized for the visitors. Pape Ousmane Sakho put Raja back in front with less than 10 minutes on the clock as they held on for the maximum points.
It was the Tunisian mentor’s third game as coach since parting ways with the Naturena-based outfit earlier last season after he had ended the club’s 10-year trophy drought, guiding them to the 2024/25 Nedbank Cup triumph.
This website first reported that Nabi had been appointed as the official successor of Fadlu Davids after the South African tactician was shown the exit door following a poor run of form.
The Tunisian had been linked with several roles in recent months, including the Tunisia national team setup, but a return to the Botola Pro dugout is now a reality, having worked with ASFAR before his move to South Africa.
The decision to lure Nabi to the club comes in the wake of three defeats in the last four games for Davids, seeing them drop four points behind league leaders RS Berkane.
An agreement for the remainder of the season plus an additional year was agreed. With an option to extend for a further season, based on objectives met and agreed between the two parties.
Nabi is reportedly set to reunite with one of his trusted lieutenants in ex-Chiefs goalkeeper coach Ilyes Mzoughi who he worked with at Amakhosi as Nabi reinforces his technical team for next season.
Raja’s next match is against relegation-threatened Union Sportive Yacoub El Mansour away from home on Thursday, 25 June.
Image credit: Raja Club Athletic FB
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