By KOPANO MONAHENG
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou said yesterday that he is not the person responsible for bringing players to the club.
Ouaddou said this during the CAF Champions League preliminary second-leg match briefing, where his team, Orlando Pirates, will welcome La Cure Waves FC from Mauritius.
Since becoming the Bucs’ man in the beginning of 2025/26 season, several players from his former club, Marumo Gallants, have had the opportunity to don the famous black-and-white jersey.
The likes of Daniel Msendami, Mpho Chabatsane and Masindi Nemtanjela have all made the move from Gallants to Pirates, while another important new recruit from Marumo is Bheki Mabuza.
Ouaddou insists he was not the man responsible for bringing more players from his former club to Esgodini.
Said the coach:
“Yeah, it’s good that you asked me this question because sometimes people think that I bring in people from Marumo here. But you know what is important? People don’t really understand that in a big club, one of the biggest clubs in Africa, we have a scouting department that brings people regarding the identity, regarding how we want to play in the club,” he said.
“I’m not the one who brings people here, so people must stop thinking that the coach is bringing all Marumo here.
“But speaking about Mabuza, I think it’s a good profile that can help us in the heart of the game, in terms of quick decision-making, in this last pass, the activity that he can have in the heart of the game. He’s a player that we have seen able to play short passes between the lines, is able to combine, is able to play long, but he’s able to score as well. So I think he can, hopefully, he can fit in our system.”
But what is most important is if the new recruited players are able to gel well in the team and make the team tick, while also looking at the expectation of such a big club like Pirates, the pressure and expectation of the fans as well.
“When you’ve been chosen to coach the three biggest clubs in South Africa, you have to accept the pressure, you have to accept the expectation that goes with this job.
“I cannot come here, stay in front of you and cry and every time complain, telling you that I lost Relebohile Mofokeng, I lost Patrick Maswanganyi, I lost this player, I lost that player.
“But I’m not here to do that. I’m here to find solutions, to be consistent, keep winning games and not saying that I need time to build, I need time to win games.”
Pirates will be wary of the opponent when the two sides meet at Esgodini this afternoon, kickoff is at 3pm. While they (Pirates) also want to score more goals this afternoon, they must also be very careful not to concede easy goals which has been Pirates strength since the past season where they din’t just score lots of goals but they were also able to keep clean sheets. Pirates prepared the match very well and they are ready to do damage come the end of 90 minutes and hopefully the supporters come in their big numbers to support the boys.
