After concluding their Spain preseason tour with a 2-0 win over Granada in their final match at the Marbella Football Centre on Saturday, Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou expressed satisfaction with their overall performance and said they are now looking forward to the new Premier Soccer League season.
The Buccaneers netted twice late in the second half through Patrick Maswanganyi and Relebohile Mofokeng to register their first win of the tour and finish in style.
They kicked off their tour with a 2-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers, followed by a 1-1 draw against Cypriot champions Pafos, and a goalless stalemate against Las Palmas before beating Granada 2-0 on Saturday.
Ouaddou said he never doubted his players.
They want to see this new team. They want to see them play, and we can’t wait to see them and play in front of them.
— Abdeslam Ouaddou<br />Orlando Pirates coach
“I had all the time the trust from my players and we tried with my staff to give them confidence, to play, to train well, to give efforts and to stay united,” Ouaddou told the club’s media department.
“And step by step, we finished this camp with a victory. I think it is good because it helps the guys in terms of confidence to end with a victory.”
Ouaddou said the players would rest before shifting their focus to preparing for the MTN8 quarterfinal against Polokwane City on August 2 at Orlando Stadium.
“For me, I was not worried because of what we have seen since the beginning here in terms of training, in terms of football and the aim to go forward to create the chances we had.
“We are going to give some rest to the players, but we are very impatient to go back to Johannesburg to play in front of our fans who are waiting for us.
“They want to see this new team. They want to see them play, and we can’t wait to see them and play in front of them.”
The aim of the preseason camp in Spain was to prepare the team for the new season and to give Ouaddou the opportunity to see what the new players can offer in the new season.
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