Chivaviro’s talks with Nabi give hope of a better season for Chiefs

Ranga Chivaviro is eager to justify the hope many had in him to be a crucial attacker at Kaizer Chiefs after joining Amakhosi from relegated Marumo Gallants at the beginning of last season.

Chivaviro, 31, had scored 17 goals for Gallants in all competitions before their relegation in 2023 and there was hope he would be an instant hit at Amakhosi. However an injury in his first weeks at Naturena set him back and with the club generally not performing well, he struggled to adapt.

Chivaviro contributed four goals in 20 league matches last season.

That poor return by the bulky striker, combined with Chiefs finishing in their worst league position of 10th, means there needs to be vast improvement this season for Chiefs and Chivaviro.

How Chivaviro will fit into new coach Nasreddine Nabi's plans will become clearer when Amakhosi open their Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign against Gallants at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday (5.30pm).

Chivaviro is looking forward to working with Nabi, and hopes the arrival of the 56-year-old Tunisian can result in an improvement in the striker's game.

“I want to resurrect that form [from Gallants] and hopefully it’s not just me but it’s all the guys,” Chivaviro said on Wednesday.

“We believe that if we’re all on top of our game we’re bound to win games. That’s the mandate for us — we want to win games and put Chiefs on top where we belong.

“It was a very difficult first season for me and also for the team. I don’t know how many years we have finished outside the top eight, let alone not qualifying for Caf football.

“But we have a point to prove now and we want to rectify that. We want to rise up and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“The guys are looking hungry and motived and I don’t think we need more motivation than that we didn’t do well last season and we owe it to ourselves to do better this campaign.”

Chivaviro’s first encounter with Nabi was when Gallants reached the semifinals of the 2022-23 Caf Confederation Cup. He scored seven goals in that competition, including the one in the second leg of the Limpopo team’s 4-1 on aggregate defeat to Yanga in their last four matchup.

“And I think it was one of the first conversations we had, me and him [when Nabi arrived at Chiefs in the off-season]. He reminded me of what I was doing and who I was and how he wants to see me as this season.”

Chivaviro said working with Nabi has been refreshing but the good thing about it is that he’s reminded everyone why they’re at Chiefs.

“For me, it’s been a lot of learning. What’s important is he’s reminding us what Kaizer Chiefs is and what it takes to be here. Being in this circle must mean you’re quality.”