Ouaddou's past shapes Orlando Pirates' future: The Moroccan defender-turned-coach sailing steady

The experience that Orlando Pirates’ coach Abdeslam Ouaddou garnered during a 17-year professional playing career has shaped his game model and playing style as a coach.

TS Galaxy arrived at Orlando Stadium soaring. They hadn’t lost in their last five games, resulting in them climbing the Betway Premiership standings.

But Pirates clipped Galaxy’s wings, beating them 2-0, courtesy of goals from Evidence Makgopa and Tshegofatso Mabasa in both halves, as they moved up to third on the log.

It was a fulfilling result that ensured the Sea Robbers are sailing in steady waters under Ouaddou, as they ended the month of September with six wins and one draw, which was notwithstanding.

After the MTN8 final ended in a goalless draw in regulation time, Tshepang Moremi and Oswin Appollis came off the bench to win the game for Pirates 3-0 in extra-time, as they bagged their record-extending fourth MTN8 crown in a row.

Ouaddou, though, couldn’t have done it without the help of his technical team and players, which is why he lauded the impact that everyone makes in the team when the chips are down.

“You can win a match with 11 players, but if you want to win a competition, then you need a bigger group of players to succeed,” said Ouaddou during his post-match conference at Orlando this week.

Solid defending seems to be one of the game models that Pirates' players have quickly adapted to, as goalkeeper Sipho Chaine kept clean sheets last month.

It’s safe to say it was bound to happen that Pirates have the most rock-solid defence so far this season as Ouaddou was a defender during his hedays,  but the former Fulham captain says it’s always crucial to find balance between defence and attack.

“I was a defender—but one who liked the game and fast football. Now, I am not only focused on defence, I focus with my vision,” Ouaddou said.

“You have to be efficient inside and outside the box—that’s very important for me. Even if we have scored four or three goals, I am still very careful with how we defend against a team.”

“The game was clear to me for sometime. So, I had a lot of expectations when I was a captain and defender, playing for the strikers. So, I just used that experience of when I was a player and brought it to the club as the coach.”

One of the players who’s benefitting from Ouaddou’s game model is Tshegofatso Mabasa. The 29-year-old scored his 50th goal for the club when he came off the bench and scored the winner against the Rockets.

And that hasn't only been the important milestone for Mabasa. His decision to stay put at the club following reports that he wanted to leave due to limited game time has helped both him and the team.

Mabasa has been a team-player. He encouraged fellow striker Makgopa to take the penalty—which he converted—against Galaxy, while he was one of the players who celebrated wildly after another attacker, Yanela Mbuthuma, scored his first goal for the club against Lioli at home last Saturday.

Ouaddou, though, revealed the nature of Mabasa when he made a humble plea to him to put someone else onto the pitch, instead of him, with 15 minutes still to be played.

“I am happy for Mabasa,” said Ouaddou after the striker’s exceptional cameo marked a milestone in his life. “It shows his fantastic abilities as a player. At the beginning of the season, he wasn’t playing, but you saw at training that he was a true professional.

“All the time, he was advising his teammates, and those who were very close to them. He has a very clean heart. And it’s not the first time he's been supportive of his teammates.

“This other time, I wanted to bring him in for the last 15 minutes. And he said: ‘Please coach, can you bring on Masindi (Nemtajela).’ He was pushing for a teammate to play ahead of him.”