Pirates striker Pedersen must wait for debut as fitness concerns remain

Orlando Pirates may have to delay Sebastian Pedersen’s first appearance for the club after coach Abdeslam Ouaddou confirmed the new striker is not yet fully fit.

The 27-year-old Norwegian joined Pirates from Sogndal, who play in the second tier of Norwegian football, but Ouaddou says the club’s performance department is still preparing him for competitive action.

Pedersen has already impressed his new manager in training, with Ouaddou describing him as a natural “finisher”. However, the Pirates coach is unwilling to rush the forward into the team before he is ready.

“He’s very happy to join Pirates. We’ve seen a lot of happiness and excitement from him at training. We can definitely see that he has the quality to finish. I don’t need one month to see that he’s a finisher,” Ouaddou said at a press conference in Fairland, Johannesburg, on Thursday.

The coach said Pedersen’s ability was clear, but added that his physical condition remained the immediate priority.

“Now the question is around putting his qualities on the table, but it’s important to be fit and in that area he’s not 100%. The performance department is working closely with him in order to have him fully ready. I want to see him on the pitch, but as a coach I can’t just throw him into the fire.”

Ouaddou also highlighted the challenges faced by a player moving into a new footballing environment. He believes Pedersen must be given time to settle into life at Pirates before being exposed to the demands of first-team football.

“I am very cautious because I was once in that situation … when you are in a new environment as a professional footballer, there’s time for integration,” the Pirates coach said. “There’s this stress when you discover a new environment … you have to eat differently, so a lot of things change. It’s more of a mental thing, and we have to be careful because we don’t want to risk him getting injured.”

The immediate focus for Pirates is not Pedersen’s debut but their MTN8 semi-final against Sekhukhune United. The teams meet in the first leg at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

They will then face each other in the league at Orlando Amstel Arena three days later, before returning to the same venue for the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final on 29 August.

Ouaddou said Pirates would remain committed to their own approach rather than becoming overly concerned with Sekhukhune United’s strengths.

“We just have to stick to our principles, our way of playing football. You know we are not too focused on the opponent even when we study them,” he said.

For now, that means Pedersen is likely to continue his integration away from the competitive spotlight. Pirates have identified the Norwegian’s finishing ability, but Ouaddou insists his debut will only come once the striker is physically and mentally prepared.

Sowetan