Abdeslam Ouaddou

thumb|Abdeslam Ouaddou Abdeslam Ouaddou ( born 1 November 1978) is a Moroccan football coach and former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He is the current coach of South African Premier Soccer League club Orlando Pirates. He also holds French citizenship. Quotes It took a bit of time for him to understand what I expect of him, In training, I always said the job doesn’t start in the game—it starts in training at the start of the week. I was not happy with how he was training, but I was happy with how he returned [from the World Cup break into pre-season]…fresh, in every training, full of energy I think if he listened to me last season, he would have been at the World Cup, definitely. He’s going abroad; it’s not easy. He will have to be mentally strong, There aren’t many supporters like here in South Africa; some stadiums are empty. I hope he finds joy there, even without the fans. There’s huge pressure from the club owners on the foreign players. Abdeslam Ouaddou opens up on stormy relationship with Patrick Maswanganyi, August 26, FARPost by Tokelo Mokhesi People can say, ‘This coach, what did he win?, he’s not experienced and how can he coach such a big club?’. But I believe more in the competency than experience You can have someone who has been coaching for the past 20 years but didn’t win anything. But on the other hand, you can have a young coach with competency, but he’s starving; he wants to win. At the same time, you can have a player in your team who has 15 years of experience but didn’t win any trophies. But you can have a 16-year-old with fantastic qualities who can make you win the league, I’m a bit confused when it comes to experience and competency. Abdeslam Ouaddou sends message to his doubters after surprise appointment as Orlando Pirates coach - 'I am a bit confused when it comes to experience and competency', July 2025, GOAL by Michael Madyira I think many people can be disappointed but I was there for the game of Zimbabwe, South Africa did their best. I don't want to come back on what happened in the AFCON, but they did their best. I think it gives the opportunity for the coach to see all his team in preparing for the World Cup I think it's just an important moment for our players, they have a big challenge to perform now coming back from AFCON because they have three, four months - there is another big challenge and a big opportunity for the coach of the national team to select the best players of the country to go to represent South Africa for the World Cup. In one side it's good for us, it's good for Pirates as well because our players will be motivated to show themselves and to perform in order to be selected by the coach Hugo Broos. So, I think it's a good thing for us. Abdeslam Ouaddou explains why World Cup can aid Pirates , Feb 2026, FOOT AFRICA t by Hlayisani Magoro External Links Category:Football (soccer) players Category:Football (soccer) coaches Category:1978 births Category:Living people