Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou wants to prove doubters wrong

Doubting Thomases abound and Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is ready to knuckle down and prove them wrong. 

He started his tenure with an impressive MTN8 quarterfinal win over Polokwane City last weekend and his attention has shifted to the start of the Betway Premiership with Sekhukhune United at Orlando Stadium on Saturday. 

The Buccaneers go into this season’s campaign under pressure to take the fight to Mamelodi Sundowns who are on a record-extending eight successive league championship wins. 

Though they have been impressive in cup competition over the past two years where they won five, Pirates have not laid their hands on the league trophy since 2012 and fans are desperate. 

“When I finished played overseas, the first thing was to come back to Morocco. From there I went on to work in Benin, DRC, Algeria and now I am here in South Africa,” he said.

 “When you are a coach, you start with small clubs where you must prove your competencies. Sometimes you cannot just get to a big club like Orlando Pirates which is where I am at the moment.” 

Ouaddou has taken over from Spaniard Jose Riveiro who endeared himself to the hard to please Pirates faithful by helping them to five trophies in three seasons with the club. 

“Some people can be doubtful about me, but it is up to me to prove them (wrong). Unfortunately, I cannot change anything (about what they think of me). 

“When I stopped as a player to become a coach, my dream was to come back to the continent because I lived for more thana 45 years in France.” 

 Ouaddou said during his playing career with Stade Rennais, Valenciennes FC, AS Nancy in France, Fulham in England, Olympiacos in Greece and Qatar SC, he always had to prove himself. 

“It is funny because I started as a professional football player in a small club where I signed a professional contract as an 18 year old. My dream was to move to bigger clubs and to play in the Champions League. You have to be ambitious. 

“As an African coach, you have to prove yourself more than anybody else all the time. I was a football player in France and as an African and I had to prove myself ten times than locals to be a regular in the team. 

“I played at Fulham and Olympiacos and it is a lot of work. You have to prove yourself many times and it is the same for as a coach. What is funny is that when you come back to the continent, there is still this thing that you have to prove yourself. 

“I have no problem with that, I am happy to be at Orlando Pirates and I thank them for giving me this opportunity. Let’s see what I am able to do at the end of the season. 

“I hope to win the title with the help of my players and prove to everybody that I am able to reach that level.”