‘I cannot say it is a loss because you have to think about the evolution of your players,’ said the Pirates head coach.
Orlando Pirates head coach Abelsam Ouaddou says Mbekezeli Mbokazi’s departure is not a loss for the Buccaneers but rather a part of the natural progress of the 20 year-old Pirates captain.
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Mbokazi finished off his brief but dazzling Pirates first team tenure in fine style on Saturday, as he skippered them to the Carling Black Label Knockout title. Relebohile Mofokeng’s extra time goal secured a 1-0 victory for Pirates over Marumo Gallants at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Pirates’ Mbokazi off to Chicago
Mbokazi will now head off to play for Bafana Bafana in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and following that, he will join his new Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire in the US.
The Pirates and Bafana central defender leaves the Buccaneers with the side having captured both the MTN8 and Carling Knockout titles this season, as well as leading the Betway Premiership.
“I cannot say it is a loss because you have to think about the evolution of your players,” Ouaddou said at the post-match press conference on Saturday.
“Pirates are one of the big sides in Africa and every coach wants to have their best players to compete for titles. But this is the … ecosystem of football.
“I was in this position at Nancy (in France) when I was 22,” added the former Morocco international.
“I was developed by them for four years, two of them in the first division. But I had the opportunity to go to Fulham in the Premier League.
‘I want to wish him good luck and all the best. I told him before the game, that if you have put the team in first place in the league and won this trophy, no one can say that you did not do your job.
‘He must never forget Pirates or his national team’
“He will go to the US and we hope he is going to improve and keep evolving. And he must never forget Orlando Pirates or his national team. It is not because he goes to the US that he needs to stop improving and putting in effort.”
Ouaddou, meanwhile, believes the break for the AFCON may have come at a perfect time for Pirates, as they look to go all the way and win the Premiership title next year.
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“I think the break will come at the right moment, because we have been playing so many games. If you take into consideration the Champions League, the cups and the league games, we have played more than Marumo and many teams.
“Now is the moment for the national team, the nation needs our players.”