Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has sounded a note of caution to Mpho Padime and Simphiwe Masilela after the youngsters made an encouraging start to life around the Buccaneers’ first team.
Padime, 19, has been one of the brightest products of Pirates’ reserve setup, playing a key role as the club’s DStv Diski Challenge side lifted the title. His form also earned him a place on the reserves’ recent trip to the Netherlands, where he continued to showcase the qualities that have caught the attention of the senior technical team.
That promise translated into a senior opportunity over the weekend when Padime was introduced from the bench during Pirates’ MTN8 semi-final second leg against Sekhukhune United.
The youngster did not look out of place.
But while Padime has understandably attracted much of the attention, Ouaddou was eager to ensure that 22-year-old Masilela receives his share of the recognition.
“Not only him. I think we can include Masilela in the talk. Well done, well done for both of them,” Ouaddou said.
For the Pirates coach, the emergence of the two players is evidence of a deliberate pathway from the club’s reserve ranks into the senior team.
“I think Pirates is a club that is giving a chance to the young. It’s not the first year, and we continue the process. They did really well. We saw, everybody saw that they have a great, great potential,” he said.
Ouaddou’s faith in the pair is not based solely on what they have produced in their first-team cameos.
The coach revealed that he had been tracking their progress for months, dating back to last season when he watched the Diski Challenge side and requested that both players spend more time training with the senior setup.
“I saw that potential when they came to start the training on the 24th of June, but even last season, when I wanted to see them, because I went to see some BDC game, and I asked to Rosco, the coach, and Quilisi, ‘Please, I’d like to see them more in training,’” Ouaddou explained.
“So I had them during six months, so I was not surprised about the potential.”
The performances have therefore confirmed what Ouaddou already knew.
But the coach knows that potential alone does not guarantee a successful career.
His biggest concern now is ensuring that the excitement surrounding their emergence does not distract them from the hard work required to establish themselves at senior level.
“But now they must keep working. They must keep being humble, listening, to be coachable. It’s only the first games. Career is minimum ten years,” he said.
That is where Ouaddou believes the next chapter of their development will be decided.
He has promised that opportunities will come, but expects the youngsters to continue earning them through their attitude and professionalism.
“When I will have opportunity to give them game time, definitely I will give them, but they still must work and be very, very professional,” he said.
The warning that followed was perhaps the most telling.
“Because football, you can go high quickly, but you can fall quickly as well.”
Ouaddou is clearly conscious of the challenges that accompany sudden success, particularly for young players who can quickly find themselves in the spotlight.
His message extends beyond what happens during training and matches. He wants Padime and Masilela to understand that protecting their careers requires discipline away from the pitch as well.
“So what I’m asking for them: well done, well done for today, keep working, be careful about your life. You have to be professional. Football, think football, think football,” he said.
“You train, you go home, you rest, you being good, you drink water, not softies, don’t smoke, don’t take things that can destroy your body and fit to your career.”
And then came the simplest instruction of all.
“And work, work, work, work.”
For Padime and Masilela, the door to the Pirates first team is now open.
The challenge is staying there.
With both youngsters having already shown enough to convince Ouaddou of their ability, the coach’s message is less about questioning their talent and more about ensuring they have the mentality to maximise it.
At 19 and 22 respectively, there is plenty of time ahead of them. But as Ouaddou’s warning makes clear, the journey from promising youngster to established professional is rarely determined by talent alone.
Written by: Sandile Ndumo
