Ouaddou backs Pirates defender Seema for ‘great, great, great future’

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says Lebone Seema can become a top-level defender after praising the 23-year-old’s rapid progress since joining the club from TS Galaxy last season.

Seema quickly became an important member of the Buccaneers’ defence and was rewarded for his performances with the 2025/26 Betway Premiership Defender of the Season award.

His contribution also helped Orlando Pirates keep several clean sheets during the campaign, while Ouaddou believes the centre-back has developed a more complete understanding of the demands of defending.

The coach says Seema is now better at judging when to play out from the back and when a more direct or physical response is needed – an aspect of his game that was not as refined when he first arrived.

“Look, Seema did really a lot of work with seriousness, with professionalism because if you want to get to the high level, first of all, you need to work, daily work,” said Ouaddou.

“You need to listen; to be coachable and he is a fantastic boy. He accepts sometimes to be criticised, he listens and he goes forward.

“I remember last season against Golden Arrows. I tried to bring some efficiency on him because I always tell him that, of course, there is the beautiful game. It is important to keep this quality, to find the players between the lines, to play short, to play long, to be beautiful. Okay? But the high level sometimes asks you to be rough, to be efficient.”

Ouaddou recalled using a match against Golden Arrows to teach Seema that defenders must sometimes prioritise preventing danger over maintaining a neat style of play.

“Sometimes it is not shape, if you have to put the ball sometimes in the stand because you want to keep the clean sheet, it is part of your job. And I call this the emergency situation,” he said.

“We cannot all the time as defenders want to play clean. So, he did a lot of improvements. He is somebody now who is able to play clean football, and he is able to be sometimes rough, rough, hard, on the ball. Not on the ankle of the opponent. I don’t teach this to my players.”

The coach believes Seema’s ability to adapt has marked a significant step in his development and says further improvement remains possible.

“So, you can see that step by step he became a real high-level defender. And I am sure there is room to be even better,” he added.

“And I predict a great, great, great future for him if he continues to work, if he continues to listen in his career.”