It’s not all tactics. Mandla Ncikazi, the now-legendary Orlando Pirates assistant coach, has revealed what makes the head coach Abdelsam Ouaddou special.
The French-Moroccan coach’s tenure in Soweto began with an alarming stumble. Remember those back-to-back Betway Premiership losses to Sekhukhune United and Marumo Gallants?
Fortunately, Ouaddou steadied the ship, lifting the MTN8 trophy and giving Orlando Pirates a perfect start in the CAF Champions League.
MANDLA NCIKAZI LAUDS ABDESLAM OUADDOU
“What I like about Ouaddou, he knows himself that he is from Africa, it’s important when we stand in front of players for them to see that he is theirs,” said Ncikazi, who has been an assistant coach for a string of tacticians at Orlando Pirates.
“He knows that he is from Africa; he looks at the players with the eye of an African man. So, all the people at the club, he respects them in an African way.
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“Not many coaches would agree to come to such a club without their own technical team members. That speaks to how much he trusts himself. You can look at it as if he is not smart, but I felt this man is coming here, he’s like, ‘I came alone, if you want to sabotage me, you can’.
“It hit me hard, and that’s how I saw what kind of a person he is. Even with his work, you can see he loves his job so much. He’s relevant, and at Orlando Pirates, we work hard. He came with different things tactically.
“Sometimes when you try something in the same way always, and sometimes it fails, you need to try a different way. When you look at our team, we were dominating possession, but sometimes we lose the match,” Ncikazi concluded.
BETWAY PREMIERSHIP ACTION
Following the weekend’s 3-0 victory over Lesotho’s Lioli FC in the CAF Champions League first-round preliminary qualifier, Orlando Pirates switch focus to Betway Premiership matters on Tuesday. Siwelele FC will be waiting for the Sea Robbers at the Free State Stadium at 19:30.