Ouaddou: Pirates used Spain camp to fast-track Pedersen’s integration

Ouaddou confirmed this during the media open day at the Rand Stadium yesterday, as they build up to their opening Betway Premiership match of the season against newly promoted Milford FC on Saturday. Pedersen joins Pirates Norwegian second-tier side Sogndal on a two-year deal, and Ouaddou says their scouting team has done a brilliant job on him.

"The scouting department of the club, I think, is looking for a profile that can help us increase the average of conversion. As you know, last season we were the team in the continent that had the best average of chances. We have some good players with us, and I think he is integrating into the group. As you saw last season, we need this finisher –  this profile that can finish the action," said Ouaddou

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 "I think the scouting department has seen him; we have seen him, we have studied him, and I believe he is somebody who can bring us his freshness, his quality, and his competencies. That 's why it's very important for us to have him for a couple of days in Spain, trying to integrate him. As you know, you can be a good player, but when you come into a new environment, we have to make it easy for him and integrate him into our collective."

Pirates will also start life without the Premier Soccer League’s (PSL’s) footballer of the season Relebohile Mofokeng, who was sold to Belgian giants Royale Union Saint-Gilloise for more than R70 million earlier this month. After contributing directly to 19 goals last season, as they won their first league title in 14 years, Ouaddou says Mofokeng will be dearly missed, but they are working on closing the gap he’s left.

Ouaddou has also settled speculation about his future after he raised eyebrows at the end of the season, saying he was tired when Pirates lifted the league title in Mbombela. The former Moroccan international captain says that matter is in the past and now he’s looking forward to leading the Bucs in the new season.

Ouaddou, who won a treble with Pirates in his first season with the club, says he was just sharing his feeling at the time and says it was important that he didn’t hide it. Now that he’s well rested, it’s business as usual.