Mariko showed some glimpses of what he is capable of when he came on for Mbule just after the hour mark.
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is ‘looking forward’ to seeing Abdoulaye Mariko establish himself as one of the fan-favourites at the Soweto giants.
Mariko was one of six new players who made their debuts for Pirates during their 2-0 victory over Polokwane City at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday. The other debutants were Oswin Appollis, Sipho Mbule, Sihle Nduli, Tshepang Moremi and Yanela Mbuthuma.
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Mariko showed some glimpses of what he is capable of when he came on for Mbule just after the hour mark.
Ouaddou has cautioned that there is still a lot of work to be done to make Mariko the kind of player that made him the best player in the Malian Première Division before joining Pirates.
“Mariko is a very interesting young player, he was the top scorer in Mali, he took the award as the best player in the league and top scorer, he’s come in a new environment in a big club,” said Ouaddou during the post-match conference at Orlando Stadium.
“He has lots of quality, as you may have seen today, but we still need to improve him and bring him to the high level. It’s not easy when you’re coming into a new country, a new culture. He has to integrate himself into the team and learn the language.”
Ouaddou also revealed what he told Mariko when he arrived at Pirates.
“It’s the first thing I told him he has to do, and that is to learn English in order to integrate himself in the team. But the expectation for him is like all the players, to give his best and be the best for Orlando Pirates, because there’s a lot of expectation, inside the country and on the continent. He knows that, I think he’s a top man, his personality is good and he’s a good player,” added Ouaddou.
Ouaddou said he would give the other new signings a chance to play during the season, but insists that the new recruits need to show him at training that they are ready.
New players like Masindi Nemtajela, Sinoxolo Kwayiba, Nkosikhona Ndaba and Tshepo Mashiloane did not feature for Pirates during their win against Polokwane City.
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“We have to give chances to those who deserve it. But I don’t just give chances because I want to please them, I give chances because you show me in training that you can bring something to the team, so all the guys you have seen come in, they showed me something in pre-season.”