The newly appointed coach of Orlando Pirates, Abdeslam Ouaddou, has expressed his sincere views on the club and thanked his predecessor, Jose Riveiro, for laying a strong foundation.
The Moroccan coach began his journey in the Premier Soccer League by steering then-relegation-threatened Marumo Gallants to a 10th-place finish with just 10 Betway Premiership games remaining.
He was at the helm of the Bloemfontein-based team for 12 matches, secured five victories, four draws and three losses across all competitions. He made his mark by beating both Soweto giants, defeating Pirates 2-0 and edging Kaizer Chiefs 2-1, respectively.
His announcement as the new Pirates mentor came as a shock as the club was linked to several coaches whose names carry weight, including Rulani Mokwena, Pitso Mosimane and Benni McCarthy.
The 46-year-old said he was also shocked when it was revealed to him that the Buccaneers are interested in acquiring his services.
“If I tell you, when I was scouted by Orlando Pirates, I was very surprised. I was very surprised,” he said in an interview with PiratesTV.
“They are very advanced about how they are seeing football, how they are they are managing the club.
“The fans, and the lovers of Orlando Pirates, are lucky to have such people looking after the club because even in Europe, I played in England, in France, and I’m not sure if I have seen the way that these people are managing the club,” he continued.
Ouaddou has big shoes to fill as he is taking over from Riveiro, who raised the bar during his three-year stint with the club, leading them towards lifting five trophies.
“It’s a big challenge, I think the club is well organised and we arrived at the end, and of course they need to go forward because they did a fantastic job during the previous years.
“We have to congratulate the previous coach Riveiro as well, he did a great job and thanks to the board as well, who supported him, we can see that they have a strong vision.
“But now, we have arrived at the end of the project of 5 years, and people need the victories, they need the trophies, and I’m very passionate about that.
The former Gallants coach said he understands the pressure that comes with coaching a big team like Pirates, which has a rich history and a massive fanbase, but assured fans that he is ready for the challenge and to bring trophies to Orlando.
“I’m ready for the challenge, I’m ready for the pressure, and most importantly, I’m ready to improve my players. I’m ready to fight with my players, and maybe this character that I have, maybe it’s the character that Pirates want. I’m starving, and I want titles, I want to win,” he concluded.