Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has praised the club for placing faith in Sipho Mbule who he believes will make an impact this season.
The 27-year-old has joined Pirates in a move that stunned the local football fraternity, with many believing he would be heading to their rivals Kaizer Chiefs after parting ways with Mamelodi Sundowns.
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He’s arguably one of the most naturally gifted footballers the country has produced in the past decade, but his off-the-field issues pulled a premature end to his career at Sundowns, while he also saw his loan move with Sekhkukhune United end with a bitter taste.
Ouaddou was quoted praising the player on a radio interview with Robert Marawa, prior to his move to Pirates, which many supporters then believed, he was key to the signing of the player dubbed; ‘the Master Chef’ in local football.
“It’s funny, at the time when I spoke about Mbule, I was not even approached by Orlando Pirates, it’s just Robert [Marawa] asked me about some players that I liked, I spoke about him, I like this kind of player who is not scared to have the ball,” he said on Pirates TV.
“They want to move forward, they are good with the ball, but you know there are some players that need to be managed in the proper way, of course he has talent… but maybe from him or I don’t know what happened, he didn’t manage his career well or his choices.
“Maybe he was too good, and he reached the level, but the law of football is very tough – when you don’t respect football, yourself, the job – it can be tough and call you back and show you it’s not time for you to slow down.
“Players need to take care of their bodies, their lifestyle and to know that things can go quickly in the right way but also the wrong way as well, if you don’t respect football. If you respect football, football will respect you. If you don’t respect it, quickly you can be finished.”
The 46-year-old who was capped over 80 times by the Morocco national team and played at the highest level in France, England and Greece knows a bit about players of Mbule’s ilk, and while he admits he will do all he can to tap into his undoubted potential, he stated the player needs to meet the club half way and take care of himself, physically and mentally.
“This type of player, if they come back to the high level, in the fitness we want from them, they can help you because they are diamonds, but diamonds need to be protected, if you put them in the wrong place… to come back to Mbule, it’s up to him, not up to me,” he said.
“I find it fantastic, that the board of such a big club, not me – because people don’t have to think I brought him here, the board decided about the people they wanted here. He has to take this moment as a strong message, and luck to come back in a good club.
“We will be with him, we will support him and we already to spoke to the staff, we will do everything to bring him to the lights, but in saying that he’s not a small boy, he has to manage his career, his life – but one thing is for sure, the energy we will give all our players, we will give him the same – to help the team.
“We hope to come back here end of the season, to say Orlando Pirates had a good bet on him but I’m 100% he will help us.”
Mbule has scored 16 goals, with 14 assists in 169 appearances in the top-flight for SuperSport United, Sundowns and Sekhukhune, along with four senior international caps for South Africa.
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