Orlando Pirates have released footage showing how much pressure the team was under in their quest to clinch the 2025/26 Betway Premiership title, which boiled over during an incident between coach Abdeslam Ouaddou and Patrick Maswanganyi.
Pirates finished first in the league on 69 points in a record-breaking season that saw them score the most goals 58, concede the least (12) and keep the most clean sheets (21) by a single goalkeeper in the PSL.
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In the Part 1 of BucsCamp Episode on Pirates TV, the footage shows half-time bust up between Ouaddou and the attacking midfielder during the match against Marumo Gallants on Valentine’s Day this year at Orlando Stadium.
The side was leading 2-0 with one of the goals scored by Maswanganyi. However, the 28-year-old missed an opportunity to score a third for his side having done the work of eliminating at least four defenders.
The coach was addressing what he felt was complacency at the break in the change room, with Tito looking like he was mumbling while the coach spoke. In the footage the Moroccan tactician lost his cool and had to be held back by some senior players and some members of the technical team.
“Guys, we have to be serious for two minutes, please,” Ouaddou said as he entered the change room.
“I think we are for the same purpose. You, me, the stand, we are in the same shape. We want to win. And I don’t think some players here inside, I don’t think they are aware of what we want to achieve.
“If you are here to joke, I’m not here to joke! (shouts). Hey, 2-0, 2-0 – sorry you can watch me. 2-0, we don’t deserve… We don’t deserve to take this 2-0. We are playing sh*t!
“And if we continue like that… What happened Tito? You have a problem? You have a problem? Come here, speak. Don’t speak there [your spot], speak here [in the middle]. Come in front of everybody else, speak.
“Don’t speak in this, please I don’t like this. Be honest. Me I tell you front… Come here to speak.”
A confused Maswanganyi is seen saying: “I don’t know,” to which Ouaddou replied while getting really upset: “You don’t know? You are speaking. So, if you have something, come here.”
Now players such as Deon Hotto started to intervene, with Ouaddou continuing to shout: “Come here. You have something to speak, speak. I don’t like when you sit like this.”
Tito replied: “When I speak, I speak to you.”
After which something inaudible followed, with Ouaddou again urging Tito to come into the middle of the change room: “Come speak, we are here for the same purpose!”
At this point, Mandla Ncikazi and goalkeeper Sipho Chaine visibly had to held Ouaddou back as he moved towards Maswanganyi, with the whole mood in the dressing room very tense.
After a while, Ouaddou had calmed down a little and continued his speech: “What I’m seeing, if we want to go to win this game, we have to change the attitude guys. Because 2-0 is not a win, we have still forty-five minutes.
“We don’t have the control in the middle, because we want to joke. We’re going to finish up; we can make this 3-0 and we’re still joking. It’s not professional guys.
“I think you want to win the title. I want to win with you. Because we are able to win it, but when you are joking like that at home? It’s not correct. And I cannot tolerate that.
“And if somebody else to speak, no problem. I leave him the space, come to speak. I’m not a dictator here.”
The episode got fans talking on social media with divided opinions on who was in the wrong in the situation, while some players and coaches like Hotto and Ncikazi in the episode understood where both parties were coming from.
The Buccaneers went on to win that match 3-0 and since that game Maswanganyi went on to score four more goals with one assist to take his season tally to eight league goals and overall, two assists.
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