Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says winning his debut Soweto Derby tasted spicy as he compared his time as a player and now as a coach.
Ouaddou played in major Derbies in France, England and Greece over his illustrious career before venturing into coaching, and the former Morocco defender has begun to flourish now at his latest role at Pirates.
In what was his first taste of the derby in South Africa, he was quizzed about whether it felt different to win a rivalry as a player, than as a coach, in reference to Benni McCarthy stating winning the winning a trophy as a coach felt better than winning the UEFA Champions League as a player.
“I think this is a very interesting question to play the derby as a player, or as a coach, for me it’s the same taste because of the rivalry, the taste is the same, it’s spicy,” Ouaddou said about his debut victory.
“The difference, is as a player, you are focused on your own performances because you want to look good, to play good for the fans and to make a good perfomance, but as a coach you’re not looking at yourself, more 20, 35 players like we have.
“I’m a coach, for me it doesn’t make such a difference, it’s an important game for the fans, it’s two big clubs, Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, among the biggest clubs in Africa, so today you can say it wasn’t only a Soweto Derby, it was like a Champions League game today.”
Pirates 3-0 win over Chiefs moved them three points ahead of second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns at the top of the table – ahead of their clash against Sekhukhune United tomorrow.
