Abdeslam Ouaddou reveals what Orlando Pirates new signing Abdoulaye Mariko must do to make his Bucs life easier - 'There are a lot of expectations'

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has revealed what the club's new signing, Abdoulaye Mariko, must learn in order to succeed at the Premier Soccer League side.

Mariko is among the new players at the club, but unlike the rest, he comes from Mali, a French-speaking nation, which means he faces a possible language barrier in South Africa.

With this in mind, Ouaddou says he has challenged the Malian to learn English to make his life at the club easier.

“Mariko is a very interesting young player; he was the top scorer in Mali, he took the award as the best player in the league and top scorer, and he’s come into a new environment in a big club,” Ouaddou said after the MTN8 game against Polokwane City at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

“He has lots of quality, as you may have seen today (on Saturday), but we still need to improve him and bring him to a high level. It’s not easy when you’re coming into a new country with a new culture – he has to integrate himself into the team and has to learn the language," he added.

“It’s the first thing I told him he has to do, to learn English in order to integrate himself into the team – but the expectation for him is like all the players, to give his best and be the best for Orlando Pirates, because there’s a lot of expectation inside the country and on the continent."

“And he knows that. I think he’s a top man; the personality is good, and he’s a good player, yeah.”

Mariko, although he came on as a substitute, was among the new players who were given their Pirates debut.

Oswin Appollis, the Man of the Match, Tshepang Moremi, Yanela Mbuthuma, Sihle Nduli, and Sipho Mbule also made their debuts.

As pointed out by his coach, the Malian has to adapt quickly to the new environment and a new league if he is to be as productive as he was for his former club, Djoliba.

He was the Golden Boot winner and Player of the Season in the Malian Ligue 1 before he was signed by the Soweto giants.

Meanwhile, Pirates are waiting to see who will be their MTN8 semi-final rivals when the draw is conducted after the conclusion of the quarter-finals.