Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi says he tried to sign Ranga Chivaviro when he was in charge of Young Africans SC.
Chivaviro, 31, was in high demand after firing 18 goals for Gallants in the 2022/23 season and helped them reach the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup where they fell to Yanga over the two-legged tie.
Despite strong interest and talks engaged with the two parties, Chiefs won the race for his services but he endured a difficult debut campaign with Amakhosi, scoring four goals in 23 games as they finished 10th in the league, their lowest in the Premier Soccer League era.
However, he appears to be improving under Nabi since his arrival after an impressive pre-season and has netted goals in the 3-1 win over AmaZulu and in the 2-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.
“Ranga… you know, it’s true [I tried to sign him] at that moment I had Fiston Mayele, and I knew he was going to leave and we looked [for strikers] and in CAF, we played Marumo Gallants, he had two very good games,” he said.
“I think for that [performances] Kaizer Chiefs signed him, because his agent talked and said no, no, go to [Chiefs] not Tanzania.
“Yes, I know there’s progress, but Ranga needs to work more, more confidence, specific work in the finishing. I think he’s made progress but he needs another striker with him, because if there’s two you progress more.”
Chiefs next game will be on October 26 against SuperSport United.
