Orlando Pirates edge African Stars FC as Abdeslam Ouaddou praises heat preparations

Orlando Pirates took a significant step towards the CAF Champions League group stages with a 1-0 victory over Namibia’s African Stars FC at the National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana, on Saturday.

The match was played in temperatures that reached 35 and 36 degrees Celsius, but Pirates’ preparation for the conditions helped them secure a narrow first-leg advantage.

Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou said the club’s analysis department had identified the expected heat early in the week, allowing the technical team to prepare the squad both physically and mentally. Two water breaks during the match also helped the players manage the demanding conditions.

“When we prepared for this game in the week, at the beginning of the week, our analysis department already told us that we will have 35 degrees, 36 degrees. So, we were prepared for that, I said to my boys that we are on a mission and soldiers who are going to the mission,” Ouaddou said.

“We don’t care about the weather, it can be 40 degrees, it can be -10, we are going there to get results and to go through the next group stages.

“Mentally we prepared the boys because you know when you play in the Champions League, you have to adapt to any condition and it’s part of the development of the boys, it’s part of football.”

Ouaddou has refused to suggest that the result means Orlando Pirates are already close to securing their place in the group stages.

The tie will be decided after the second leg at Orlando Amstel Arena next Friday, and the coach said his players would treat that match as seriously as the opening fixture.

“I think we have succeeded in the first half of these two games, we still have the second half in South Africa. I cannot say that we have one foot in the group stages, we still have an important second half there,” the coach added.

“We will have to prepare in order to go directly to the group stages. It’s an important target for the club, it’s an important target for the coaches and the players. We will be sure that we rest and start this game definitely to win it.”

The victory gives Orlando Pirates a narrow advantage before the return match, while African Stars FC must score in South Africa to keep their hopes of progressing alive. Ouaddou said the immediate priority was recovery before the squad begins its preparations for the decisive fixture.