Ouaddou challenges Orlando Pirates to show ambition in title race

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says his side must continue to embrace ambition and courage as they pursue success in both domestic and continental competition.

Pirates have already won the MTN8 for a record-extending fourth time, but Ouaddou insists that achievement will not lead to complacency. Speaking before Saturday afternoon’s CAF Champions League semi-final first leg against Sekhukhune United at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, he said the uncertainty over who will win a title is what makes football compelling.

The French-Moroccan coach believes Pirates’ success has increased expectations, with opponents now determined to defeat them.

“It’s one of the intrinsic motivations, when you know that you’ve been chased and everybody wants to get you,” Ouaddou told Journalists at a press conference held at the MTN8 headquarters in Randburg.

He added that an unpredictable title race was important for the wider appeal of the Premier Soccer League, both inside stadiums and among television viewers.

“I think first and for all it’s good for us but more than that what brings interest in the league is not to know who is going to win the league at the beginning of the season and it is what brings people to the stadium and for people to watch on TV.

“But if you come and you know who is the champion, it does not make sense, that’s why I said to the guys last season, it’s not easy, because people think I was arrogant,” Ouaddou said.

Ouaddou joined Pirates at the beginning of the 2025/26 season with a clear objective: to lead the club to a league title for the first time since 2012. He said he had made that ambition clear from his earliest days in charge, rather than adopting a cautious approach.

“The first training (session) I had with them in Spain I told them, ‘Hey, this season we need to win the league!’ You know many coaches come here, they are cautious, they say, ‘Ja but I need players, I need time’ but you need sometimes,” Ouaddou said.

The former Marumo Gallants head coach acknowledged that success could not be guaranteed, but argued that a team must be prepared to make bold declarations and take risks if it wants to win major honours.

“Excuse me for using these words but sometimes you need balls to say, ‘Ja, I want to win the league’. And this season again we want to win the league, it won’t be easy, I’m not saying we’re going to win it but we’re doing everything to win it.

“And we’re doing everything to win the (CAF) Champions League. You know if you come here, play small and protect yourself, what are you going to protect anyway? If you lose two or four games you go out,” the former Marumo Gallants head coach added.

Pirates’ next challenge comes against Sekhukhune United in the first leg of their semi-final, with Ouaddou’s message focused on maintaining the same ambition that has shaped his first season at the club.