Ncikazi reveals half-time turmoil as Ouaddou nearly walked out during Orlando Pirates’ title decider

Orlando Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi has described this season as the hardest of his career after revealing that head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou almost left the dressing room at half-time of the club’s title-clinching match against Orbit College.

The Buccaneers secured the Betway Premiership crown with a 2-0 win over already-relegated Orbit College on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign, ending a 14-year wait for a league title and completing a domestic treble that also included the MTN8 and Carling Knockout.

But behind the scenes, the decisive afternoon was far from straightforward. In the latest episode of the club’s Bucs Camp documentary series, Ncikazi lifts the lid on a tense interval confrontation that briefly threatened to overshadow one of the most significant matches in Pirates’ recent history.

Director’s half-time address sparks tension

Ncikazi explains that the flashpoint came when Orlando Pirates’ Director of Football, Mpumi Khoza, entered the dressing room at the break and delivered an impassioned address to the players. While the content of the speech is not detailed in the documentary, Ncikazi says the intervention did not go down well with Ouaddou.

“This season has been the most difficult for me to manage, especially in halftime, to manage the coach,” Ncikazi says in the documentary. “The coach is North African, he’s French, he’s very honest. And when that moment happened, with the coach being the coach, he wanted to leave.”

The assistant coach describes how the situation escalated rapidly, with the Moroccan almost walking out to the back room in the middle of the interval of the decisive Betway Premiership fixture.

Ncikazi caught between players and coach

Ncikazi recounts that he suddenly found himself juggling several roles at once as emotions ran high in a packed dressing room with the league title on the line.

“Now here’s me trying to manage the situation with the players, trying to manage the coach who was already leaving to the back room, trying to make some sense, but I’m also not very sober because I am emotionally glued to the game,” he says.

He admits that the intensity of the moment pushed him to his limits as he attempted to prevent the disruption from derailing Pirates’ title push.

“That was the most difficult time, trying to play this saint, and make peace while I am also not peaceful,” Ncikazi adds.

According to the documentary, it took the combined efforts of Ncikazi and experienced winger Deon Hotto to calm things down and restore order before the team returned to the pitch.

No lasting impact as Pirates seal treble

Despite the tension at the interval, the incident ultimately had no bearing on the final outcome. The players emerged for the second half composed and in control, adding a further goal to secure a 2-0 victory that confirmed them as Betway Premiership champions.

The win not only ended a 14-year league title drought but also completed a domestic treble in Ouaddou’s first season in charge, with the Betway Premiership trophy joining the MTN8 and Carling Knockout already in the cabinet.

While Bucs Camp does not spell out exactly what was said by Khoza during his dressing-room address, the footage provides a rare glimpse into the strain and emotion surrounding Pirates’ pursuit of the title and the dynamics within the club’s technical team.

‘Most difficult season to manage’

The documentary also casts fresh light on Ncikazi’s broader contribution beyond tactics and training-ground work. Long regarded as one of South African football’s most respected coaches, he is shown acting as a key mediator at a crucial moment in the season.

By his own admission, guiding relationships and emotions in that heated half-time period was one of the toughest tasks he has faced.

“This season has been the most difficult for me to manage,” he reiterates, highlighting the demands of balancing the expectations of the head coach, senior management and a squad under pressure to end more than a decade without a league title.

In the end, Ncikazi’s intervention, along with the calming influence of senior player Hotto, helped ensure that the internal tensions did not spill over and affect the performance on the pitch.

What followed was one of Orlando Pirates’ most celebrated afternoons in recent memory, as the club closed out a 2-0 win, lifted the Betway Premiership trophy and confirmed a treble that will stand as a defining achievement of Ouaddou’s debut campaign at the helm.