Ouaddou to SA legends: take the tracksuit, sit on the bench — then talk
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has had enough of the commentary from the sidelines.
South African football legends keep telling him how to run his team. They say skills are culture. They say showboating is Diski. They say ban the tricks and you kill the game.
Teboho Moloi was the latest. Teach players to use skill properly, he said. Don’t ban it.
Ouaddou’s answer was not a debate. It was a challenge.
Come to training. Wear the kit. Sit on the bench. See if it is easy.
“When we lose one or two games, they are the first ones to come out to say the coach must be fired,” Ouaddou said.
“So, it’s not good. They must come to help us. I am here to serve the football in South Africa, here to win titles.
“I am not here to speak bad about South African football. I respect the culture, I respect the country.
“I am happy to be in the country and I have brought along my family — my wife is here, my children go to school here.
“We do not have to let these people kill the spirit, kill the ambition of the coach. As coaches we come here because we like the country.
“It is easy to speak. They can come. I am happy to bring them here. The legends can come and have one week of training with us.
“I can give them a chance, give them the attire and a place on the bench and we will see if it is easy for them. But they should not talk like that.”
That is the line. Results first. Titles first. The ‘circus’ can wait.
Ouaddou already said he would rather pack his bags than watch players kneel on the ball while chances go begging. The legends heard “attack on South African football.”
He meant “win the next game.” Now the invitation is public. Talk is cheap. The bench is not.
