{"id":20241,"date":"2025-08-04T13:42:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T11:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=20241"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:06:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:06:44","slug":"orlando-pirates-coach-shares-thoughts-on-mariko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-coach-shares-thoughts-on-mariko\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Pirates Coach Shares Thoughts on Mariko\u2019s Promising Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has expressed optimism about Abdoulaye Mariko\u2019s future at the club, following the Malian striker\u2019s debut in their 2-0 win over Polokwane City at the Orlando Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mariko was among six new players introduced during the match, alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-secure-oswin-appollis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Oswin Appollis<\/a>, Sipho Mbule, Sihle Nduli, Tshepang Moremi, and Yanela Mbuthuma. The match marked a confident start for the Buccaneers in the new campaign, with the coach using the opportunity to rotate and test his new additions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-glimpse-of-potential\">A Glimpse of Potential<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mariko entered the fray just after the 60-minute mark, replacing<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/10-confirmed-psl-signings-heating-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Mbule<\/a>, and provided glimpses of his talent that once earned him the title of Mali\u2019s best player and top scorer in the Malian Premi\u00e8re Division. Ouaddou acknowledged the player\u2019s potential, but it was clear that there is still a long road ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMariko is a very interesting young player,\u201d said the coach in his post-match press conference. \u201cHe was the top scorer and best player in Mali, but now he\u2019s in a new environment and a big club. He has quality, no doubt, but he needs to adjust and improve further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1994455308\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-integration-is-key\">Integration Is Key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ouaddou emphasised the challenges of adapting to a new culture and football environment, especially for players arriving from abroad. He revealed that one of his first conversations with Mariko centred on the importance of learning English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one of the first things I told him\u2014to learn English. It\u2019s essential for him to communicate and be part of the team. The expectation is high, not just locally but also across the continent. He understands this, and he has the right attitude and personality to succeed,\u201d the coach explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-earned-opportunities\">Earned Opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While several new faces were given their chance against Polokwane City, others such as Masindi Nemtajela, Sinoxolo Kwayiba, Nkosikhona Ndaba, and Tshepo Mashiloane did not feature. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-future-under-abdeslam-ouaddou\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ouaddou <\/a>was clear about his approach to squad selection, insisting that game time must be earned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe must reward those who show us in training that they are ready. I don\u2019t hand out opportunities just to make players happy. Every player who featured today proved themselves during pre-season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-993008457\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-promising-start\">A Promising Start<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pirates&#8217; coach also had high praise for Oswin Appollis, who played a crucial role in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/local-soccer\/pirates-coach-delivers-verdict-on-mariko\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MTN8<\/a> victory. With a strong start and a deeper squad, Ouaddou appears intent on building a competitive team capable of challenging on all fronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for Mariko, his debut was just the beginning. With proper integration, consistent performance, and adaptation to the demands of South African football, he could soon become one of the club\u2019s standout figures, something the coach is certainly \u201clooking forward\u201d to seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/mohau-nkota-leaves-orlando-pirates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mohau Nkota Leaves Orlando Pirates for Saudi Pro League<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has expressed optimism about Abdoulaye Mariko\u2019s future at the club, following the Malian striker\u2019s debut in their 2-0 win over Polokwane City at the Orlando Stadium. Mariko was among six new players introduced during the match, alongside Oswin Appollis, Sipho Mbule, Sihle Nduli, Tshepang Moremi, and Yanela Mbuthuma. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has expressed optimism about Abdoulaye Mariko\u2019s future at the club, following the Malian striker\u2019s debut in their...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[10114,273,9385,9773],"class_list":{"0":"post-20241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-mtn8","10":"tag-orlando-pirates","11":"tag-polokwane-city","12":"tag-psl-2025-26-season"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20241"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20256,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20241\/revisions\/20256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}