Orlando Pirates are protecting ‘diamond’ Oswin Appollis, says Abdeslam Ouaddou

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says Oswin Appollis’ limited playing time this season is deliberate, with the club managing the fatigue of the attacking midfielder after a demanding campaign.

The 25-year-old enjoyed an outstanding first season with the Buccaneers alongside former team-mate Relebohile Mofokeng, helping Pirates win a treble and earning several nominations at the PSL end of season awards last campaign.

Appollis also established himself as a regular in the senior national team and featured in Bafana Bafana’s historic 2026 FIFA World Cup outing.

Mofokeng’s move to Europe appeared to create an opportunity for Appollis to take on a greater role at Pirates this term. Although he has played in almost all of the club’s matches so far, he has completed 90 minutes only twice, both during the CAF Champions League preliminary rounds.

Speaking before Pirates’ Carling Knockout quarter-final against Sekhukhune United, Ouaddou was asked by iDiski Times what would be required for Appollis to become more influential.

The coach said the player was being protected rather than overlooked.

“Appollis is the master class,” said Ouaddou.

“Appollis is one of our best players. Appollis is one of the best players in South Africa. He is full of quality, but Appollis we don’t have to forget is a human, he is not a robot.

“So Appollis played a fantastic season for his first season in Pirates. He comes from Polokwane, where you know a lot of things have changed for him, and he managed to handle all these things. He did a wonderful, a fantastic season.

“Straight away, he went to the World Cup, and it’s not only him, many players in Europe, many players in other clubs. He played the games. He gave everything for his country. So it’s a guy who is not cheating. So we can understand one moment that sometimes a player can maybe have this fatigue.

“I was a player during six years in a row I was making the qualification of the World Cup with Morocco. I was making the qualification of the AFCON. After when I go to Europe, I play the Europa League, and after I played the league, during six years in a row. And I can understand, you know.

“So we are protecting our diamond. We are protecting our diamond because we have many games, and we know that if we protect him, we give him this time we know that he will be important for us. We will benefit from this protection that we give him.

“But soon you are going to see Appollis. But for me, it’s just somebody that I love, and I don’t want to burn him.”