Pirates: Ouaddou promises to come up with ‘strong plan’ as history beckons

Orlando Pirates are currently the most in form team in the Premier Soccer League, as far as domestic competitions are concerned.

The Abdeslam Ouaddou-led men started their campaign with MTN8 triumph, which was the club’s fourth in a row. The former Morocco international followed it up with Carling Knockout victory after beating Marumo Gallants in the final.

Bucs further ended 2025 by winning the unofficial Black Label Cup thans to their 2-0 win over the se;ect Carling All Stars.

In the Premier Soccer League, the Soweto giants are top of the table with 35 points, three more than the defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns. On Saturday, their Nedbank Cup journey starts with a trip to Durban where they will play ABC Motsepe League side Tshakuma Tsha Madzivhandila at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Cautious Ouadou dreams of making history with the Sea Robbers

“I think with these things you have to be motivated, you have to challenge yourself. Football moves very quickly; sometimes you think you have 10 years to play, but that time goes by so fast. In the 10, 5 or 6 years that you are able to play football, try to be ambitious and try to write your name in the club’s history,” Ouaddou responded when asked about the possibility of making history in Mzansi.

“Just to give you an example, in 2004 I played in the CAF AFCON final. We had in my opinion, the strongest team in Africa. We played fantastic football in Tunisia everybody looked at us as favourites to win, but in the end we didn’t win the trophy. Your name is not on the trophy, Tunisia won that AFCON.

“That’s why I always say to my players: use this time that you are playing to be ambitious and to make sure your name is remembered as a legend.

“We will try and come up with a strong plan in order to win [the Saturday game] game, and you can be sure that I will have a very strong speech for my players,” he concluded.