Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has given his verdict on the club’s new midfield ace Abdoulaye Mariko following the MTN8 clash against Polokwane City FC.
The Buccaneers had a flying start to the 2025/26 season with a convincing 2-0 win over Polokwane City FC in the MTN8 quarter-final at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Pirates found the back of the net courtesy of new signing Oswin Appollis and Patrick Maswanganyi to book a spot in the semi-final. Appollis, who joined Pirates in this transfer window from Polokwane City, came back to haunt his former side after picking up a Man-of-the-Match performance.
Meanwhile, the Sea Robbers began a new era under the leadership of the Moroccan coach, who also arrived in the off-season from Marumo Gallants.
Ouaddou replaced Jose Riveiro on the hot seat after the Spanish tactician joined Egyptian Premier League giants Al Ahly.
In his first match at Pirates, Ouaddou handed debuts to five new signings, such as Appollis, Sipho Mbule, Sihle Nduli, Yanela Mbuthuma, Tshepang Moremi, and Abdoyulaye Mariko.
Mariko came on in the second-half and proved to be a decent acquisition for the Soweto giants with his skills and passing abilities.
ABDOULAYE MARIKO JOINED PIRATES FROM THE MALIAN LIGUE 1
The central midfielder signed with Pirates from Djoliba AC in the Malian Ligue 1 after winning the Player of the Season award in the previous campaign.
Speaking in his first official post-match interview at Bucs, Ouaddou revealed that he told Mariko to learn English to adapt to PSL football quickly.
“Mariko is a very interesting player, a young player who was a top scorer in Mali, he also won the award for the best player,” Ouaddou said.
“He came to a new environment in a big club, he has a lot of qualities, and maybe you saw today [Saturday], but we still need to improve him and bring him to the highest level. It’s not easy when you’re coming to a new country, with a new culture. He had to integrate himself into the team quickly and learn the language as well.
“The first thing that I told him was to learn English in order to integrate himself into the team, but the expectation is for him to be the best for Orlando Pirates.”
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