Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has showered praise on one of the club’s young players, terming him captain material.
Pirates drew 1-1 with Cyprus champions Pafos in a friendly match on Sunday with Relebohile Mofokeng scoring the equaliser after 25 minutes, having gone down in the sixth minute.
However, while Mofokeng hogged the limelight for scoring the goal, Ouaddou was impressed by the display of young defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
Pirates coach in awe of Mbokazi
Mbokazi played alongside Nkosinathi Sibisi at centre-back in a four-man defence that also had Deano van Rooyen and Deon Hotto and he put in another impressive performance to the delight of his coach who feels he will be one of the leaders in the team next season.
“Mbokazi is one of the big men of the team. He’s South African; he’s proud of what he’s doing, we’re proud of him. He did a good game,” Ouaddou said of Mbokazi as quoted by iDiski Times.
“It’s normal that we give him this captaining. Step-by-step we want to give him more time because of course it will be one of the main men for this season.
Teen star has been growing in strength
“That’s why we give him the responsibility, and he showed it magnificently. He did a great game. So, he needs to continue like that. He was fantastic.”
Mbokazi has shown great maturity since his promotion to the senior team last season with a consistent run of matches starting in March when he became undroppable under former coach Jose Riveiro.
The 19-year-old played 19 games across all competitions in his debut season and will be a vital player in 2025-26 when Pirates are expected to challenge on multiple fronts yet again.
