“He Has A Big Space To Play”: Ouaddou On Maswanganyi To Replace Mofokeng At 10
Orlando Pirates coach Abdelsam Ouaddou says Patrick Maswanganyi has a big role to play this season in the number 10 position following the departure of Relebohile Mofokeng at the end of last season.
Mofokeng left Pirates at the end of last season to join Belgian club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise after helping the Soweto giants win a treble last term, setting a PSL record sales fee of €3.5 million (~R65.3 million).
Since the start of the season, Maswanganyi has been trusted to occupy the number 10 role previously filled by Mofokeng.
The 28-year-old, who was named the PSL Players’ Player of the Season in the 2023/24 campaign, has contributed to two goals so far, scoring one and setting up another.
He converted a penalty when Pirates defeated Durban City in the MTN8 quarter-final and provided the assist for Ghampani Lungu’s opening goal as they beat Chippa United 3-0 at Kings Park Stadium in a Betway Premiership match on Sunday.
“Everybody who understands football, who knows football, can see fantastic quality in Tito,” said Ouaddou.
“As long as he brings the game in his favour, to play forward, it’s what we have been saying to him: to bring the game forward. You see that he can help the team and he can really be the link between the defenders and the strikers.
“Not only that, he’s able to feed in the final third, but he’s somebody who is able to score as well. So, I think he has a lot of talent, and he knows that.
“We sit with him and talk a lot about which areas he needs to occupy in order to be more efficient.
“We have also done a lot of video sessions with him. And he’s a clever boy; he’s a clever boy. He knows exactly what we’re expecting from him, and he showed it today.
“Again, I hope we will have this consistency because he’s a key player for Pirates, definitely. And like you said, truly, with the departure of Rele, he has a big space there to play and a very big role to play for our club.
“I’m very happy about his preparation since the beginning of the season. I’m very happy about how he’s training. I’m very happy about his attitude, and it’s what I’m asking from my players. The work starts in training, not during the weekend, during the game.”
Pirates will hope Maswanganyi carries on where he left off when they face Sekhukhune United in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final this coming weekend.
Pirates are the kings of this competition, having won it in each of the last four seasons.
