{
  "id": 2170105,
  "title": "Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou embraces pressure as motivation amid challenging season",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/orlando-pirates-coach-abdeslam-ouaddou-embraces-pressure-as",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-20T15:59:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/sport/soccer/psl/2026-08-20-orlando-pirates-coach-abdeslam-ouaddou-embraces-pressure-as-motivation-amid-challenging-season/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou believes the team has embraced the pressure of being the top team in South African football, using it as motivation to avoid last season's silverware success being a fluke. The defending champions have two domestic cup titles - the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup - and are aiming to reclaim the Betway Premiership title. Pirates were unhappy with their start to the season, particularly with some of their international players still in a tournament mindset following their World Cup duty with Bafana Bafana. This dissatisfaction led Ouaddou to address the media, stating that people should allow him to do his job. Despite some fans' dissatisfaction, Ouaddou believes his squad is ready to take on the challenge, and their performance against Chippa United 3-0 has given him confidence. Mamelodi Sundowns' defender Grant Kekana still considers them the team to beat, but Ouaddou takes these sentiments as motivation to succeed. He feels the team has the intrinsic motivation to be crowned champions of the country, and the intrigue of uncertainty about who will ultimately win is what draws fans to the stadiums. Ouaddou cautioned his team about past success and emphasized that they must focus on the present, working hard to achieve their targets and be ambitious. They must improve their control in the upcoming matches, aiming to dominate the game, secure clean sheets, and score goals.",
  "summary": "Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says his squad is fully embracing the pressure of being defending champions, using it as motivation to prove their trophy success is no fluke.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}