Speaking for the first time since his appointment, Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has revealed how he was recruited for the role.
Pirates announced towards the end of June that they had appointed former Marumo Gallants coach Abdeslam Ouaddou as the new man at the helm, replacing previous coach Jose Riveiro.
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The 46-year-old former Moroccan professional footballer is a UEFA Pro Licence holder and had his first taste of coaching in South Africa at the wheel of Gallants last season.
During his brief tenure there, Ouaddou oversaw 12 matches, five of which ended in victory, while he settled for a draw on four occasions. Impressively, he lost just three times.
Speaking on PiratesTV, Ouaddou shared some insight into how he ended up being the man to lead the Buccaneers.
"If I tell you the way I was scouted by Orlando Pirates, I was very surprised. I was very surprised. People don't know it, but I can tell you that Orlando Pirates is in the future," Ouaddou said via the club channel.
"They are very advanced. They are very advanced in how they see football and how they manage the club. I can say the fans of Pirates are lucky to have such people looking after that club.
"Because even in Europe—I played in England and France, I'm not sure if I've seen the way that these people are managing the club, and exactly what they want" he said.
"I can tell you that the board has seen me four or five times before they took a decision. They don't just take somebody like that.
"There are a lot of criteria, and when you pass the first criteria, they have another one, and when you finish the second one, they have a third one. When you finish the third one, there's a fourth one.
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"Of course, we can say that the most important thing is the result. And we know that when we join such a big club. There is a brand. And we arrived in a process of five years. We arrived in the end, and now the people need trophies; they need results.
"Especially, the board knows what they want."
With Riveiro having collected five trophies during his three-year stay, the pressure will be on Ouaddou to either match or improve on that impressive run.
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