Coach eyeing Champions League as ultimate proving ground to groom Bucs’ array of talent

Abdeslam Ouaddou knows a thing or two about developing as a young international centreback — the Orlando Pirates coach once was one.

Even in defeat in the MTN8 final against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday, Ouaddou is happy his young brigade, including new Bafana Bafana central defender Lebone Seema, are continuing to grow in leaps and bounds.

The Brazilians’ 2-0 triumph earned a measure of revenge for a 2024-25 Nedbank Cup last match loss and ceding their eight-season Betway Premiership title run to the Buccaneers’ last campaign. In a competitive, blow-for-blow final at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Seema, 23, was one of the young talents Ouaddou was pleased with in a clash he, in a sentiment echoed by Downs counterpart Miguel Cardoso, pointed out was between “the two best teams in the country”.

Coaches will look to the positives after a defeat. There is the point made that had Ronwen Williams not once again shown his prowess at the penalty spot to deny Bucs’ Gamphani Lungu in the 62nd minute, with the score at 1-0 after Teboho Mokoena’s 12^th-minute opener, it might have been a different ball game.

Iqraam Rayners’ second from the penalty spot came five minutes into added time. The result prevented a fifth straight MTN8 title for latter-day South African cup kings Pirates. Downs, on balance of play of their flexed muscle gained from an edge in experience internationally and player power stemming from the Motsepe family’s wealth, deserved the win, but younger, talented Pirates had pushed the Caf Champions League holders all the way again.

Seema’s defensive work that belies his 23 years, and his ability to spread a pass at short range or on a dime across 60m of turf, heralds another exciting centreback in what is now perhaps the most promising array of new players in that position for South Africa since the 1990s.

His quality was on display again facing Downs’ superstar attack in the final. That followed Seema’s international debut last Sunday as he starred in a mostly second-string Bafana Bafana’s impressive 1-0 friendly win against a near full-strength Egypt, where the defender tied up Tottenham Hotspur and former Manchester City star Omar Marmoush.

Seema has work to do breaking into a Bafana central defence where Mbekezeli Mbokazi set the 2026 World Cup alight and Ime Okon showed potential partnering him. Rangers FC’s Olwethu Makhanya put himself forward in Pitso Mosimane’s first two games back as national coach last week — 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Guinea and Eritrea — as ready to dislodge Okon. And where there is more talent in Khulumani Ndamane and Malibongwe Khoza waiting in the wings. But the Pirates player is knocking hard.

Ouaddou was asked about Seema’s continued development.

“Seema did a lot of work with seriousness, with professionalism, because he wants to get to a high level,” said the Moroccan, who earned more than 60 caps for his country and had a strong 17-year club career in France, England, Greece and Qatar.

“First of all, you need to work, daily work; to listen. You need to be coachable. And he’s a fantastic boy. He accepts, sometimes, being criticised. He listens and he progresses.

“I remember last season against Golden Arrows, I tried to bring some efficiency through to him. Because I always tell him there is the beautiful game [and] it’s important to keep this quality, to find the players between the lines, to play short, to play long, to be beautiful.

“But the high level sometimes asks you to be rough, to be efficient. Sometimes it’s not a shame if you have to put the ball in the stands because you want to keep the clean sheet. It’s part of your job and I call this the ‘emergency situation’.

“So he made a lot of improvements. It’s somebody now who’s able to play clean football, able to sometimes be rough. Rough [as in] hard on the ball, not on the ankle of the opponent — I don’t teach this to my players.

“You can see that, step by step, he became a real high-level defender. And I am sure there is room to be even better and I predict a great, great, great future for him if he continues to work, continues to listen in his career.”

Seema is another out of a production line of talent emerging from Pirates in the last decade, which has also put out Lyle Foster, Mbokazi and Relebohile Mofokeng, now impressing in Belgium. Cemran Dansin, Mpho Padime and recent acquisition Neo Rapoo are also tipped for big things.

Midfielder Simphiwe Selepe, 22, replaced in the second half of Saturday’s final by 21-year-old Siphiwe Masilela, a member of Bucs’ 2025-26 DStv Diski Challenge under-23 league champions; 23-year-old playmaker Thapelo Mokobodi; and another substitute, Kabelo Kgosietsile, impressed Ouaddou.

“We are disappointed, of course, not to take this fifth MTN8 cup. But there is a lot of education in that game for us because I have really seen some quality players in my side.

“I’m very happy about [Thalente] Mbatha’s game — he was injured, he came back so it’s somebody I can bring back into our team. And I have again seen some young players like Masilela and Selepe.

“There are a lot of positives for us. We are going to keep working hard, we still have a lot of games. The Carling [Knockout], Nedbank Cup, Champions League and, most important, to defend our [league] title.”

Both coaches referred to the cup final as “a Champions League level”. Such games, Ouaddou pointed out, are essential for developing young players.

The coach will look to this season’s Champions League as the stage to refine and improve his young guns’ skills, as the Buccaneers play a two-legged qualifier for the group stage against Angola’s Wiliete SC from this weekend and aim to go better than last season’s exit at this stage, and perhaps match or better their semifinal place in 2024-25.