Ouaddou responds to critics after MTN8 triumph – ‘I’ve been fighting since I was 15’

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou concedes it is always tough to stay afloat, especially in a big team like Bucs.

The former Marumo Gallants coach was given the mandate to succeed coach Jose Riveiro who left the club for a better challenge after serving the Buccaneers for three years. The ex-Morocco international did not start life at the club as expected, losing his opening two Premier Soccer League titles before bouncing back to win three in a row.

Last weekend, he helped the Sea Robbers to MTN8 glory after a 3-0 win over Stellenbosch in the final.

‘I'm not better than Barker'

Even after beating Stellies, Ouadoou remained humble, insisting it is just that his tactics, which he has been working on since taking over, paid dividends on Saturday. He says he is not a better coach than his opposite number, only that Bucs executed their plan effectively.

‘[The plan] it worked, and it doesn't mean that I'm a better coach than two games ago. I don't see myself as better than Steve Barker. We had a big, big game, big respect for the coach, he's a very good coach, and a very interesting team from Stellenbosch,” he told the media.

“It's a club that is very stable, very intentional for a long time, and we're happy to win the trophy.”

‘Every day we have to improve'

“I don't know if I have to go deep into that subject because we can have many interpretations, and I don't want that. I'm peaceful, I love people, I love life, I love the work, but this victory, I'm happy for my players, I'm happy for my club, for the management, my chairmen, and I'm happy for the players,” Ouaddou continued.

“But it doesn't give me more credit, every day we have to improve, we have to win games, it's like we have to show our competitors every time. It's what I have been doing ever since I was in an academy when I was 15 years old.

“If you deserve to play in Europe, you need to be three times better than a European player. So, for me, it's like that, I've been fighting since I was 15 years old about this and now as a coach, I still have to work hard, very hard, every morning, every day, just to show to the people that I'm able to coach such a big club in Africa,” the former Fulham defender concluded.