Ouaddou dismisses concerns over Pirates’ late Bafana return ahead of MTN8 final

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is not concerned that his Bafana Bafana players only returned from international duty on Tuesday, leaving limited time to prepare for Saturday’s MTN8 final against Mamelodi Sundowns.

Several key Pirates players were with Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana squad during the international break, meaning the club had to begin preparations for the eagerly anticipated match without part of its first-team group.

The Pirates contingent arrived back from Egypt on Tuesday morning, just days before the final at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Their late return could have disrupted the Buccaneers’ preparations, but Ouaddou believes the players should be able to adjust quickly to the demands of club football.

Ouaddou confident in Pirates’ established principles

Speaking to journalists, Ouaddou said experienced professional players must be capable of adapting to different tactical requirements.

“Look, a professional player in his development has to adapt to different demands,” he said.

“If you go to the national team, there is maybe a different demand, but at least we can see that the principles stay the same.”

The Pirates manager added that the players involved with Bafana Bafana are already familiar with his approach after spending a significant period working within his system.

“And for us, for the players who are in the national team, they have been with us for a while and last season, they played more than 30 games in preparation at the beginning of the season,” he said.

Ouaddou said the priority was to reintegrate the returning players into the squad and reinforce the tactical instructions that underpin Pirates’ style of play.

“So I think it’s the moment to integrate the principles, the game model, the ideas,” he said.

“For me, it’s not really a problem as long as they know exactly the demand of the coach, how we attack, how we defend.”

The coach insisted that the most important factor was not the amount of time available to train together after the international break, but whether his players retained a clear understanding of the team’s principles.

“Most important are the principles, the principles in the game. So I’m not really worried about that,” Ouaddou added.

The MTN8 final between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns will kick off at 18:00 at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The match has already sold out.