MIGUEL Gamondi ticked one of the boxes on his wish-list yesterday, and hopes his side can prepare well and take some positives heading into their title defence.
Gamondi had an impressive maiden season with Tanzanian giants Young Africans last term, winning the league and FA Cup, while reaching the Champions League quarter-final.
While Gamondi credited the work of his players, the technical team and bosses, he reserved some special praise for his predecessor, Nasreddine Nabi, the new Kaizer Chiefs coach.
Nabi had laid a good foundation for the team, having won two titles and two FA Cups, with continental football their only Achilles heel.
The two coaches are scheduled to meet tomorrow in the Toyota Cup – a pre-season friendly that will be played at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.
But ahead of that they met during a pre-match press conference yesterday, at the Taung Village, Chiefs’ base, where they shared a light-hearted moment.
Nabi was due for his briefing, his first-ever on home soil since taking on the Amakhosi head coaching role, while Gamondi was leaving the room after his press conference.
During his briefing, the latter had lauded the foundation Nabi had laid at Africans, saying he’s looking forward to meeting him in Bloemfontein.
“At the beginning, I was grateful to him for what he did at Yanga. I came to Yanga when the team had won back-to-back titles, so that was pressure,” Gamondi said.
“Luckily, we did even better. We had an impressive season – we had an important final, and we qualified for the Champions League.
“I don’t know him personally; I am very happy to meet him. I have respect for all the colleagues, especially him. He helped me a lot with what he did in Tanzania. So I wish him all the best!”
The majority of the Amakhosi faithful are looking forward to the Nabi era, hoping that they’ll finally taste silverware after enduring a nine-year trophy drought.
The prospect of winning the Toyota Cup has whet their appetite even more. After all, it would come against one of the best teams on the continent.
Gamondi, though, is not reading too much into what’s happening in the opposition’s camp, saying his sole interest is getting ready for the start of the league season next month.
“I am focusing solely on my team,” Gamondi said. “I am not focusing on Kaizer Chiefs. They are like us in pre-season.
“For sure, he (Nabi) is a new coach, and he needs to know the players… I am concentrating on my team.
“I think the Chiefs players will be excited, they’ll want to show to the new coach that they can be in the first starting line-up. They want to compete in front of fans.
“Hopefully, it will be a full house, so they’ll be motivated. But I try to work with my team – it’s the Toyota Cup, the results won’t matter. It’s about preparing well for the league.”
Yanga, as Africans are affectionately known, have been in South Africa for quite some time now, preparing for the new season.
They’ve played two friendlies against Bundesliga-based side FC Augsburg and TS Galaxy, losing 2-1 and winning 1-0 respectively, in the inaugural Mpumalanga Premier’s International Cup.
Captain Khalid Aucho hopes they can blend as a team during their pre-season tour here in South Africa so that they can hit the ground running in the league.
“We came here in preparation for the new season, so for all the friendlies, we are just checking out what we need from the system,” Aucho said.
“We have some new players, so we need to combine so that when we go back to the league we shall know when we start we’ll do well.”