“I think if we want to do this, we must go to the circus,” said Ouaddou.
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou slammed his players for what he termed “sterile possession” and “playing small passes” during the Carling Knockout quarterfinal clash against Magesi FC.
The Buccaneers edged Magesi 2-1 at the Orlando Stadium to advance to the semifinals of the competition. However, despite his team’s victory, Ouaddou was not pleased by how his team finished the game.
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“We started with the high intensity we wanted, to put pressure on the opponent to try to score early. I think the boys did a fantastic job of executing what we wanted to do today. We managed to create a lot of chances. I think that by half-time, we could have led with five goals. So, it’s a positive point. So, I’d like to congratulate my boys for that. It was important to take this victory and to go through the next stage,” said Ouaddou.
“My big disappointment was the last 15 minutes, and it’s the first time I will address that. If we want to be more ambitious and move forward, we must stop playing a sterile position and instead enjoy playing with more dynamic passes.
“I think if we want to do this, we must go to the circus. I’m not here to go to the circus or to play in the circus. I’m here to improve my players, to go forward, and we must stop this nonsense, because in the end, we conceded a goal, and the target was not to concede but to finish with a clean sheet. So I think we have to improve on that if we want to be more ambitious,” added Ouaddou.
Ouaddou has no time for showboating
Ouaddou insisted that he respects SA football culture and showboating, but added that his players needed to find a balance between entertaining the fans and scoring goals.
“I’m respecting the culture and traditions, in a fantastic country that loves football, it’s a land of football; South Africa, but we need to find the right balance between doing our job to score goals, it’s okay in a cup game, but in the league every goal is important.
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“So, for me, as long as you make passes, you can make 20 to 30 passes to make the show. I’m happy about that. I was a football player as well. And I like the show. But you must go forward and finish the action. But if you stay in the same position, in the same place, and make 30 passes in five square metres … that’s not interesting.”