Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has defended his decision to regularly start highly-rated winger Oswin Appollis on the bench, drawing a bold comparison to European giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Appollis was once again introduced as a second-half substitute as Pirates claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sekhukhune United in the Carling Knockout quarter-finals at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday, courtesy of a first-half strike from match-winner Mpho Padime.
Against Babina Noko, Ouaddou opted to start Padime and Tshepang Moremi out wide, deploying the Bafana Bafana international as a late impact player.
Appollis’ consistent bench role in recent matches has raised eyebrows among the Pirates faithful following a stellar debut campaign at the club.
Having joined the Soweto giants from Polokwane City FC ahead of the 2025/26 season, the 25-year-old scored 10 goals and provided nine assists in 40 appearances, playing a pivotal role in Pirates’ domestic treble triumph.
Addressing the attacker’s reduced minutes in the opening stages of the current campaign, the Moroccan tactician insisted that workload management is vital to prevent burnout and long-term injury.
WHY APPOLLIS IS STARTING ON THE BENCH AT PIRATES
Ouaddou justified his rotational approach by pointing to how PSG coach Luis Enrique manages high-profile stars like Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi.
“With some players, you have to be careful, and I’ve mentioned this before. If you follow international football, Luis Enrique at Paris Saint-Germain decided to rest Hakimi until January,” Ouaddou said.
“That was an internal decision based on performance data showing he needed rest to avoid injury risks. Look at our squad—we had an injury to [Kamogelo] Sebelebele, and Evidence Makgopa returned injured from the [2026] FIFA World Cup.
“We’ve seen severe injuries across other teams as well. We have to be smart. When you have a diamond like Appollis, you must anticipate burnout, especially when a player shows signs of fatigue.”
Ouaddou was also quick to shut down rumours of any rift between himself and the star winger.
“Our duty is to protect him. I want to clear this up because I don’t want to leave room for speculation. I’ve heard claims that I don’t like Appollis, but that is false. We have the CAF Champions League coming up and crucial games ahead—that is when we will unleash our joker.”
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