Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says he wants to bring Oswin Appollis ‘to the highest level’ and revealed what they worked on during pre-season with the Bafana Bafana winger.
The 23-year-old was a surprise signing from Pirates in the off-season and if his debut for the club is anything to go by, he’s set to play a starring role at the Buccaneers, after they lured him to the club from Polokwane City.
He scored and won the penalty in a Man of the Match display in front of a sold-out Orlando Stadium as they downed Rise and Shine 2-0 to book their place in the MTN8 semi-final, where they have been drawn against Mamelodi Sundowns.
“Appollis, I played against him with my previous club [Marumo Gallants], I know completely 100% the player, I know his quality, I will not change him, but as an ex-professional footballer and now a coach, I want to bring him to the highest level,” Ouaddou said.
“Of course, we need to discipline him to give him some tactical work to do, he did it during the pre-season camp and you can see we now don’t use him just for transitions, he has many tasks now, we gave him 60 minutes, we didn’t want to burn him [out].
“But he can come between the lines, make runs from deep, he can change sides [flanks] I want dynamic players, not just standing one side and to wait for the ball, I want a dynamic team, a dynamic system – modern football.
“We’re not just a 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-3, everyone is changing positions, and the opponent won’t even know how you’re playing because it’s modern football, we want to manipulate space, the opponent, the lines… it’s what he did today, and we will continue to build him.”
Appollis has amassed 14 caps for the senior South Africa national team with two goals and six assists since making his debut in 2023 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Rwanda under head coach Hugo Broos.
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