Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has heaped praise on star player Relebohile Mofokeng, singling out the 21-year- old as the player who has impressed him the most since taking over the reins.
Ouaddou replaced fan-favourite coach Jose Riveiro at the club at the beginning of the season after the Spaniard decided to leave the Soweto giants to join Egyptian giants Al Ahly.
The Moroccan tactician had caught the eye in his brief but successful spell in charge of Marumo Gallants, where he showed his quality and earned a shock move to the Buccaneers.
Although he was not the popular option to take over, with names like Pitso Mosimane, Benni McCarthy and Rhulani Mokwena tipped ahead of him, Ouaddou has proven a solid choice for the Bucs top brass.
He has managed to pick up where Riveiro left off, winning two trophies so far this season in the MTN8 as well as the Carling Knockout Cup, and his side are going toe-to-toe with Mamelodi Sundowns for the Betway Premiership.
In his first big job in Mzansi, Ouaddou has had the pleasure of working with some of the brightest young talents locally, relishing the opportunity to improve their game and turn them into superstars.
One player who has impressed the lanky former Fulham defender the most since taking the Pirates job is Mofokeng, the talented youngster tipped by most as the future of Bafana Bafana.
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“I don’t like to speak too much about individuals because since I started football, I always said that it’s a collective sport, and the performance comes with the collective work,” Ouaddou said on Bucs Camp.
“But of course, there are some players that impressed me, like [Relebohile] Mofokeng, he has the capacity to eliminate the opponent, the capacity to scan and to know what he is going to do before receiving the ball, it’s something that is interesting for me.
“I think it’s the future of football, and it’s what makes his strength actually, because he’s not a tall player, he’s not a physical player, but he can imbalance any team in the world with his quality to see before receiving the ball and to have quick decision making.”
Mofokeng has yet to hit the heights of previous seasons this term, currently without a goal and providing only two assists in nine league matches.
He will hope to improve his numbers when Pirates take on Sekhukhune United in a league match on Saturday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, as they try to regain top spot from Sundowns.