Ouaddou backs Da Cruz ahead of sold-out Soweto Derby

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has praised the work of Kaizer Chiefs manager Fernando Da Cruz before Saturday’s Soweto Derby.

The match will be played at a sold-out FNB Stadium, with Pirates hosting the fixture and kick-off scheduled for 15:30.

Both teams go into the derby after winning their most recent matches in the Carling Knockout Cup, scoring three goals apiece against their respective opponents.

The sides are also unbeaten in the league this season. Defending champions Pirates are second in the table with 22 points from eight matches, one point behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have played one game more.

Chiefs are fifth on 14 points from eight matches. They have drawn five of their past six league games.

Ouaddou dismissed the importance of league positions when discussing which team should be considered favourites, stressing that the derby would be decided by factors beyond the table.

“I think being favourites like I said, doesn’t give you the fact that you are going to win the game because football is open,” said Ouaddou at the pre-match news conference.

“And we know that Kaizer Chiefs is a big club, big fans. We are a big club as well. We are two of the three biggest clubs in Africa, of course in a derby we are not looking at the classification in the log. It’s something different.

“You have to bring on the table the fighting spirit, the proudness to represent your fans, and they are doing well.”

Da Cruz has faced criticism since taking charge at Chiefs, but Ouaddou believes the Frenchman has made a positive start and has established an “interesting game model”.

“They are doing well because a lot of people can speak, a lot people can criticise, but if you see they are not losing games, they have an interesting game model,” he added.

“We are doing well as well. So what we want is to give a very good image of football during the derby.”

Ouaddou’s comments underline the respect between the two coaches before a fixture in which recent form and the league standings are expected to carry less weight than the intensity and rivalry traditionally associated with the Soweto Derby.