Orlando Pirates defender Lebone Seema reaches 50 appearances in rapid rise

Lebone Seema has reached 50 appearances for Orlando Pirates after starting every match this season, underlining the rapid progress of the 23-year-old defender.

The milestone is one of the quickest in PSL history and comes before Pirates face TS Galaxy in a league fixture this evening. Seema joined Pirates on a free transfer after leaving TS Galaxy and made 37 appearances in his first season at the club.

His debut campaign also brought three trophies, while his performances earned him the Defender of the Season award. Seema has since progressed to the Bafana Bafana squad, winning his first two caps during the recent FIFA dates.

Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou believes Seema’s attitude and willingness to learn have been central to his development.

“Look, Seema does his work with a lot of seriousness and professionalism because if you want to get to the high level, you need daily work, to listen, to be coachable,” said Ouaddou.

The coach described the defender as a “fantastic boy” who responds positively to criticism and instruction.

Ouaddou recalled using a match against Golden Arrows last season to encourage Seema to add greater efficiency to his game. The defender’s ability to play attractive football, including short and long passing and finding players between the lines, is one of his strengths.

However, Ouaddou says top-level defending also requires players to make practical decisions when necessary.

“I remember last season against Golden Arrows, I tried to bring some efficiency in him because I always tell him that, of course, there is the beautiful game, and it is important to keep this quality by playing between the lines, playing short or long passes, to be beautiful,” he said.

“But high level sometimes asks you to be rough, efficient, and sometimes it is not a shame if you put the ball in the stand because you want to keep the clean sheet.

“It is part of your job, and I call this the ‘emergency situation’, you cannot all the time play clean.”

Ouaddou said Seema had responded by becoming a more complete defender, capable of combining composure in possession with physical strength when required.

“He did a lot of improvements, and he is somebody who is able to play clean football, he is able to be sometimes rough, hard on the ball, and not on the ankle of the opponent, I don’t teach this to my players,” he added.

The Pirates coach believes Seema still has significant room for improvement and has backed him to enjoy a successful career if he maintains his work ethic and continues to listen.

“So, you can see that step by step he became a real high-level defender and I’m sure there is room to be even better.

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