Abdeslam Ouaddou believes Tshepang Moremi is beginning to understand how best to exploit his natural gifts, with the Orlando Pirates winger emerging as one of the most dangerous attacking players in South African football.
Moremi has scored six goals and provided two assists in his last five matches across all competitions, taking his season’s contribution to eight goals and two assists in 14 appearances. His form has also strengthened his prospects of retaining a place in the Bafana Bafana squad under Pitso Mosimane.
The 26-year-old featured in South Africa’s recent friendly against Egypt and will be eager to carry his momentum into November’s back-to-back 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Kenya.
For Ouaddou, the secret to unlocking Moremi has been encouraging him to play to his strengths rather than attempting to transform him into a different type of footballer.
“Sometimes, even though I want to have inverted players, the quality of the players is sometimes to be simple and to be a winger. He is not a number 10, and I cannot convert him into a 10,” the Pirates coach said.
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Ouaddou has repeatedly reminded the winger that his pace is an exceptional asset, but one that must be used intelligently.
“I always say to Moremi that you have a special quality that you are gifted with. God gave you a special quality, and this is speed,” he said.
The Moroccan also believes Moremi must resist the temptation to measure himself against talented team-mates Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis.
“If he wants to be Mofokeng, he can’t be Mofokeng. He has to stay Moremi, and Mofokeng cannot be Moremi,” he said.
Moremi’s growing influence has been reflected in both his goalscoring and his willingness to create opportunities for others.
“He’s able to score, he’s able to feed his teammates, he’s not selfish, so he’s going to go far like that,” Ouaddou added.
For Pirates, the challenge is to keep that momentum going, with Moremi increasingly looking like a decisive figure in their attacking ambitions.