Bucs defender says even though it is hard to stay patient, he draws motivation from coach Ouaddou

Orlando Pirates and SA U-23 left-back Neo Rapoo says he will continue to bide his time for opportunities at club level behind Deon Hotto and Nkosikhona Ndaba as he keeps learning from them.

Rapoo joined the Buccaneers from Siwelele during the off-season and has made seven appearances since making a switch. The 21-year-old said even though it is hard to stay patient, he draws motivation from the belief Bucs coach Abdeslam Ouaddou showed as he prepares him for the future.

“Having someone that believes in you a lot, also gives you that extra motivation, even though it is hard to stay patient, but it’s a thing I have to work on and just learn from the guys who are playing at the moment. I need to be patient, keep working hard and I will get my chances,” Rapoo stated.

“I’ve settled in well, with the guys there. They are treating me well and they tell me to keep working hard every day; now coming here with the U-23s, I can say I’ve learnt a lot from Hotto and Ndaba.

“They are doing very well, so as a player I just have to be patient, keep working hard and be grateful for the opportunities I get, the time that I play under coach Ouaddou; just be grateful for the opportunity.”

Rapoo is with the SA U-23 as they prepare to face Madagascar in the back-to-back 2028 Olympic qualifier at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday at 3pm and on Tuesday at 8pm. The defender said they will have to go to every game with the winning mentality as they look to qualify for the Olympics.

“Obviously, we don’t know much about Madagascar, but we have to go into every game with the winning mentality. It is every player’s dream to play in the Olympics,” he said.

“So, we just have to go with the mentality of winning all the games and hopefully we can play at the Olympics.”

Having faced Algeria in October in friendly matches, Rapoo revealed how those fixtures prepared them.

“It was good. Algeria were physical and that’s what we expected from [other] African teams actually — that prepares us to go into further stages.

“Even when we were playing Afcon U-20, we saw how physical they were. We just need to play our style and move the ball quicker, but I think we will do well.”