Orlando Pirates’ newly appointed coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has spoken for the first time since he was announced as the man to replace Jose Riveiro and to take the Buccaneers to the next level.
The French-Moroccan coach was candid in his interview with the club’s media team. He spoke eloquently about values, integrity and trust – the three aspects he holds in high regard.
The former Moroccan international amassed 68 caps for the Atlas Lions and enjoyed a distinguished playing career across several top European leagues.
At Pirates, he will work alongside assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi, Rayaan Jacobs, Helmi Gueldich, and Tyron Damons.
“Every time I start a job at a new club, I do not speak about football with the players. I start the first slide of my coaching presentation speaking about values because I believe that if you manage to build a strong foundation of trust, belief, sincerity, and integrity with your players and your staff, then you can start to work and to talk about football.
“To me, values are very important in order to succeed, and in all I do, trust, belief, and transparency are very important,” said the 46-year-old Ouaddou.
Surprised by how he was scouted
Even though he had a great time at Gallants, Ouaddou said that Pirates are a step up, and he was shocked by how Bucs approached him.
He said: “Orlando Pirates are at a higher level; they are too far away. I was very surprised by the way Pirates scouted me.
“People do not know it, and I can tell you, Pirates are the future; they are very advanced in how they see football and how they manage the club. Their fans are lucky.
“I played in England and France, and I don’t think some of the teams there manage the club like Pirates does. The Pirates board spoke to me about five times. They have about five criteria that you have to go through.”
He continued: “The board knows what they want, and we know what is expected of us. People on social media can say that I am not experienced and that I have not won anything, but I believe in competencies rather than experience.
“You can have young players [16-18-year-olds] who can win you the league, or you can have experienced players who have played for about 15 years and have not won anything. People need trophies, and I’m passionate and ready for that.
“There is pressure everywhere – good pressure is fantastic pressure; it will not be easy; we will have tough games because all the teams will want to beat Pirates.”
