The last time Orlando Pirates won a league title was in the 2011/12 season, achieving a top finish back-to-back.
And for the past eight seasons, the Buccaneers have been watching Mamelodi Sundowns win it.
Pirates, on the other hand, have become the cup kings, with seven titles to their name since 2022.
However, the league remains elusive for the Soweto club, but Pirates are now top of the log ahead of Sundowns, almost halfway into the 2024/25 season, and Ouaddou is confident, especially with star player Relebohile Mofokeng fit again.
“What can I say? The president (Mofokeng) is very important for us in our team. I love him; I love his style of play. He is a very good top human being,” Ouaddou said following Pirates’ Carling Knockout triumph against Marumo Gallants in Polokwane, Limpopo.
“He is somebody who loves football. He is dreaming about football, I think; for 24 hours, he thinks about football. I cannot say too much about the beginning of the season. I think that for me, when you play many games to qualify for the competitions in the national team, I think he didn’t have enough time to rest.
“He only had 10 days’ rest, and the season before, he played between 40 and 45 matches. He is not a robot. I can understand that he was a bit tired,” stated the Moroccan.
“We gave him some rest, and he came back with some very good fitness, and you can see that in the last three or four games that we played, he was part of the success of the team.
“You can see a fit Rele Mofokeng and a Rele that is tired. If he’s 70% fit, he can help the team. I cannot imagine if he’s 100%. If he’s 100%, the president is someone who can make us win the title.”
Whether Pirates can compete with Sundowns – the points machine, as called by fans – remains to be seen.
One thing is clear, though: this league race could go down to the wire.
