Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou reacts to the club’s new signing Abdoulaye Mariko.
Mariko recently joined the Buccaneers from a Malian top tier side, Djoliba, after a brilliant 2024-2025 season that saw him end the season as the league’s top goalscorer and also Player of the Season.
The 22-year-old was given just over 20 minutes yesterday, during the MTN8 quarterfinal victory over Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium yesterday.
His cameo performance left the club’s faithful with anticipation of what the player can offer, sentiments that Ouaddou shares.
Speaking to media during post match interview, the Morrocan tactician revealed that despite being a quality player and having proved that last season, he is now at a bigger club in a different environment and he needs to adapt.
“Mariko is a very interesting young player, he was the top scorer in Mali, he took the award as the best player in the league and top scorer, he has come in a new environment in a big club,” Ouaddou tells the media.
“He has lots of quality, as you may have seen today, but we still need to improve him and bring him to the high level.
“It’s not easy when you are coming into a new country, with new culture. He has to integrate himself to the team, have to learn the language.
“It’s the first thing I told him he has to do, to learn English in order to integrate himself in the team.
“But the expectation for him is like all the players, to give his best and be the best for Orlando Pirates, because there is a lot of expectation, inside the country and on the continent.
“And he knows that, I think he’s a top man, the personality is good and he’s a good player.”