Orlando Pirates are set for a new era in the South African top flight without the services of coach Jose Riveiro, who left after a three-year stint at the Soweto giants.
The Sea Robbers will be led by former Morocco international Abdeslam Ouaddou, who was given the mandate a couple of weeks ago. The 46-year-old had a short stint with Marumo Gallants last season, where he led them to a 10th-place finish.
Ouaddou is happy with the way youths are developed, which he believes is a plus for the national team Bafana Bafana.
You should be proud of South Africa
“I want to congratulate all the stakeholders, the clubs in the PSL, the federation, who are focused on the development of the youth in South Africa,” he said as quoted by the Bucs media team.
“If you watch all the players in many African teams. You can see that 80-90% of the players were developed abroad. I don’t want to mention these teams, but in South Africa, most of the players come from the league.
“You should be proud as South Africa, because it’s what we are looking for, a national team that has 90% of the players developed by [local] clubs, many from Orlando Pirates, it’s pride. I have a big respect for the clubs [in South Africa],” Ouaddou continued.
‘No worries about that'
Coach Jose Riveiro gave youngsters a chance to prove their talent; Mohau Nkota, Mbakezeli Mbokazi, and Relebohile Mofokeng have since excelled and are even part of Bafana Bafana. Ouaddou, who has revealed his coaching experience, believes it is all about getting a working formula.
“For those who don’t know, I started coaching in 2014. I worked for six years in development, which I wanted, you learn to understand football, it’s not easy, I started from the lowest to understand the stages of football [development],” he added.
“If I have a good player, 16, 17, 18 – and he’s able to bring something to the team, I will not be scared to use him, no worries about that. A youngster can bring you energy, pace, but at the same time, you must find balance around the team, with experience as well.
“You need them sometimes to say guys, we’re leading, so these areas we need to close or maybe go forward to imbalance the opponent, to continue this energy, so it’s important to have the right balance to win the league and the big competitions,” Ouaddou concluded.
