Abdeslam Ouaddou once said he would rather quit than tolerate showboating. Now the Orlando Pirates coach has changed his tune, but on one condition: score first, dribble later.

The Moroccan has previously spoken strongly against flashy play, but after Friday’s 4-0 demolition of African Stars, which sent the Buccaneers into the CAF Champions League group stage, he let his players enjoy themselves.

Mpho “Phopho” Padime and Simphiwe Masilela ran rings around the Namibians, showcasing their natural dribbling to the delight of the fans.

“Of course the goals,” he said of the most exciting part of the game for him. “Even when we had scored four, I kept pushing them to score the fifth and sixth. My pride is we scored four and we did not concede.

“And for the players, when they have scored four goals they can then enjoy. That is why I did not say anything when Phopho was climbing on the ball.

“Masilela can also showboat and I do not have a problem when we have scored four goals,” he said.

Ouaddou made it clear what the achievement means. “The Champions League without Pirates is not the same,” he said. “We came back and it is one of the targets to do well in the Champions League.

“Credit has to be given to the boys. We know we had a difficult first half in terms of controlling the game even though we had two goals.

“Second half was much better. We were in control and managed another two goals.”

For Ouaddou, one of the biggest positives was giving young players a taste of continental football.

“We also brought some young players as well to give them some experience of this competition and they did well.

“It is a positive. Let’s focus on the next chapter which is the cup (Carling Cup). But we really want to create something great in the Champions League. We know that it is a physical competition and we will have to adapt.

“It will be important to balance the team. You cannot always go with the young players even though they bring freshness and dynamism. You need the spine of experienced players to guide them because it is a high level of competition.

“We will face varying situations. Sometimes we will face provocation like we saw last season with Lupopo. That is where I will need the more experienced players to guide the little ones.”

Pirates are through, the young players have had their taste, and the showboating is allowed, for now. But only when the scoreboard has been taken care of.

Visit MDNtv YouTube Channel for our video content