Orlando Pirates’ first trip of the season will coincidentally be against their head coach’s former employers who were left with a bitter upon his departure at the end of last season.
Marumo Gallants provided the entrance to the Betway Premiership for Abdeslam Ouaddou in what was a short yet difficult relationship.
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The working conditions came with certain unfulfilled promises which then led to Ouaddou packing up in June.
With the winter clouds yet to disappear, the Moroccan Frenchman is back in Bloemfontein for a league match to be played at Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium (19h30).
Pirates started on a negative footing in the league with a defeat at home against Sekhukhune United and will need to immediately start collecting points for Ouaddou not to start walking on banana peels.
Considering the options at his disposal, Ouaddou has selection decisions to make.
Does he stick with Tshepo Mashiloane at right-back?
Will he also have Boitumelo Radiopane starting as the lead man for his attack with Evidence Makgopa and Tshegofatso Mabasa available?
What reshuffling will he do to his midfield?
It is all for the 46-year-old to decide.
Another defeat will be disastrous for Ouaddou who will be out to avoid becoming only the second coach to fail to gather points in his first two games of a new season through the PSL years.
The late Bibey Mutombo was without points on the board after two games at the start of the 2007/08 season.
Mutombo didn’t last long in the job after that, and this is not the fate Ouaddou will want.
All the other coaches who lost on the opening day in the league while at Pirates were able to gather points in the second match from Ted Dumitru (1999/2000), Roy Barreto (2003/04), Milutin Sredojevic (2006/07), Ruud Krol (2008/09), Roger de Sa (2013/14), Vladimir Vermezovic (2014/15), Eric Tinkler (2015/16), and Jose Riveiro (2023/24).
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The Bucs have title expectations on their shoulders this season considering the signings they have made and the fact that they were second three years in a row under Jose Riveiro.
Gallants started the season positively under Alexandre Lafitte after picking up all three points away at Richards Bay.
Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
