Nabi backs Sirino for Bafana Bafana call-up

Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi says Gaston Sirino deserves a Bafana Bafana call-up, with the Uruguay-born playmaker now holding a South African passport.

ALSO READ: Hunt explains how SuperSport turned the tables on Chiefs

Bafana head coach Hugo Broos was at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday to watch Kaizer Chiefs take on SuperSport United in the Betway Premiership.

Sirino’s fine Chiefs start

It is unclear if Broos was there to watch Sirino. In any case it wasn’t the best day for the 33-year-old. Sirino’s side suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat. Sirino has had a fine start to the season in general with Chiefs. He has two goals and three assists already in all competitions. 

“We believe that the national coach was not here only for Sirino because in SuperSport and Kaizer Chiefs, there are many players who play in Bafana Bafana,” Nabi told reporters after the match.

“If Sirino was part of the players he came to observe, unfortunately, it was not a good day for him to show his value. He’s been injured all week. He trained once this week, we wanted to start him to see what he can give us.

“We were very aware that he was not fully fit, but if he is fully fit, we feel he deserves to play for Bafana Bafana.”

Nabi, meanwhile, says a lack of match fitness is the reason midfielder Njabulo Blom hasn’t played more for Amakhosi this season.

Blom has played only just over 100 minutes for Chiefs since joining them on loan from St Louis SC. This includes only one start, in the 3-1 Betway Premiership win at AmaZulu on September 25.

“It’s a matter of fitness conditioning, which has been improving since he arrived,” said Nabi.

“You can even see that he’s starting to pick up. We believe that he’s a player who can help because of his experience and everything.”

Nabi on Blom

Nabi preferred Venezuelan Edson Castillo to Blom and club captain Yusuf Maart on Saturday. But he was forced to bring on Maart midway through the first half after Castillo was injured.

ALSO READ: SuperSport suffer shock defeat against City

“We believe that Yusuf Maart has been playing since the beginning of the league and in the cup games. We thought that today was a good game to make him rest and give a chance to Castillo to start,” added Nabi.

Chiefs will continue their Premiership campaign with a visit to Magesi FC tomorrow evening.