Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou believes his team can halt Sundowns’ Premiership dominance

The last time Orlando Pirates won the South African top-flight league, their superstar forward Relebohile Mofokeng was just eight years old. That was in 2012. In subsequent years, the Sea Robbers have been forced to watch as Mamelodi Sundowns monopolised the Premiership. 

This includes the Brazilians’ recent run, in which they walked away with eight league titles in a row as of 2025. They have mastered the mental fortitude and resilience required to conquer this 30-match marathon.

Even as Pirates have consistently finished second behind Sundowns in the league over the past three seasons, their proximity to the serial South African champions has been more about league placings. In terms of points, they have hardly made the Brazilians sweat. 

Ambitious Ouaddou

The club’s new coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou, wants to change this narrative. The former Morocco international player has replaced Spaniard Josè Riveiro after the latter left the Buccaneers in May 2025, after three successful years in Orlando.

Under Riveiro’s guidance Pirates reached six domestic finals. They won five of those deciders, with their only failure coming in last season’s Nedbank Cup final, where they were vanquished 2-1 by Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs. 

In spite of all this knockout tournament success, the Buccaneers could not quite challenge Sundowns in the league. In 2024/25 Pirates shattered a few personal milestones. For one, they set a new club record of 19 wins in a single Premier Soccer League campaign. They also won their opening seven games of the season, another first for them.

Nevertheless, they finished 12 points behind the Brazilians. This was still a major improvement on the 23-point gap between Sundowns and second-placed Pirates at the culmination of the 2023/24 campaign. In 2023, the difference between them was 16 points.

It will be a challenge of note for Pirates as they aim to completely close the gap with the Brazilians.

Ouaddou – who represented teams such as Fulham and Rennes as a player – confirmed that wresting the league from Sundowns’ firm grip is one of his main mandates in Orlando. 

Positive pressure

Speaking to journalists after his first competitive match since being appointed (a 2-0 victory over Polokwane City in the MTN8), Ouaddou said he feels the pressure of expectation, but is embracing it. 

“It’s positive pressure. When you set foot at such a big club, the board doesn’t bring you here to chill. I know what the expectations of the fans and board are,” the 47-year-old said. 

“I will do my best to try and reach these targets. The players also know that they have done a very good job over the last three years. So, let’s keep going.”

It is quite difficult for Premiership teams to compete financially with Sundowns on the transfer market, due to them being owned by the wealthy Motsepe family. Nevertheless, the Sea Robbers have managed to weave together a great group of players over the past five years or so. 

Quality additions

While keeping the core of the team together, the Pirates hierarchy has once again moved shrewdly during this transfer window. Among a handful of reinforcements they have signed midfield general Sipho Mbule, who was a free agent after his release by Sundowns.

Speedy Bafana Bafana forward Oswin Appollis is the biggest signing in the current South African window. He was a player in demand. The 23-year-old will provide goals and assists, as he demonstrated during his debut on Saturday, 2 August.    

Appollis was instrumental as he scored one goal and assisted another in Pirates’ MTN8 win against his former side, City. The attacker showed sparks of how valuable he will be for the Buccaneers and their title ambitions.

The fact that Appollis and the other new signings are joining a united team which has become accustomed to winning silverware regularly in recent seasons will add credence to the Sea Robbers’ lofty ambitions of toppling Sundowns.

Battle-ready

Ouaddou says he and his technical team members are ready for this mammoth responsibility, as daunting as it will be to even close the gap with Sundowns, never mind beating them to the Premiership. 

“We have the tools. The club has given me the possibility to succeed,” Ouaddou told the media. “I am very happy with the quality of the players that I have. Of course, every weekend I am in trouble when it comes to choosing a lineup. But it’s a good problem for me. I am a happy coach.”

So deep is Ouaddou’s team that in the comfortable victory over City, a number of key players were excluded, including both main strikers, Tshegofatso Mabasa and Evidence Makgopa. 

Third-choice centre forward Boitumelo Radiopane was handed an opportunity to impress, alongside some new recruits.

Ouaddou’s philosophy 

Ouaddou says that if his team is to build on the foundation laid under Riveiro, rotation and player adaptability will be crucial.  

“I want dynamic players, not players who stand and wait for the ball. I want a dynamic team and dynamic organisation,” the former defender explained. 

“This is modern football. You can see nowadays that formations are not only the traditional ones. Everybody changes position and opponents cannot even know how you are playing.

“To win a game, you need 11 players. To win titles, you need a group. It’s the philosophy that we want to implement this season… Everybody will be important.”

Sundowns dominate the league because they are ruthless. They claw their way to three points even on the rare occasion that they play badly. 

Pirates, on the other hand, consistently play some of the most beautiful soccer in the league. However, when teams frustrate the Buccaneers by sitting back and defending, they sometimes struggle to dig deep for an ugly victory. 

This mentality of winning under any circumstances is one that Ouaddou will have to drill into his players, especially as they undertake the gargantuan task of trying to halt Sundowns’ perennial league dominance. DM