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I have to work hard to prove my coaching acumen - Orlando Pirates coach

football14 September 2025 17:10| © Mzansi Football
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Abdeslam Ouaddou © Gallo Images

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says he has to work hard every day to prove his worth but has spent his career as an underdog.

The former Morocco centre back, who played in both Ligue 1 in France and the Premier League in England, won a first trophy as coach on Saturday as Pirates beat Stellenbosch 3-0 in the MTN8 final at Mbombela Stadium

“We have to prove we have to win games, and we have to show every time our competency. It's what I’ve been doing since I was in the academy when I was 15 years old in the sport academy,” Ouaddou said.

“(As an African) if you want to play in Europe, you need to be three times better than an European player.

“So I’ve been fighting since I'm 15 years old, and now as a coach, I still have to work hard, very hard, every morning, every day, just to show to the people that I am able to work at such big club in Africa and to give the confidence to African competency.

“And today when we look at all the competent Africans on my staff, I have to give credit to them because we are working as a team.

“Together, we can achieve more if we show belief in our competency. We have to be humble in our job. We don't have to think that we are the best. I'm not the best, I'm working with competent people, who make the club good and are making the coach good,” he said.

The 46-year-old Ouaddou said cup success did not change his abilities as a coach.

“It doesn't mean that I am a better coach than two months ago. I think maybe I'm still a plumber or carpenter for many people,” he added, having a dig at his social media critics.

“I don't think myself better than Steve Barker. I have a big, big respect for the coach. He is a very good coach of a very interesting, very interesting team. Stellenbosch is a very, very professional club so we happy to win the trophy.”

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