Orlando Pirates coach Abdelslam Waddou has discovered an unwritten rule of South African football that cannot be found in coaching manuals: victory grants the right to dictate how football should be played.
The Orlando Pirates coach found himself at the center of another debate in South African football after stating that he would prefer to leave rather than tolerate the showy behavior of his players.
His demands are not radical; he insists on efficiency, goals, and players making correct decisions instead of indulging in self-admiration after control of the game is established. Waddou draws a clear line between skill and spectacle, arguing that there is a difference between using abilities to advance the ball and performing tricks purely for entertainment.
However, the problem for Waddou lies not so much in his argumentation as in the fact that South African football has never particularly sought to separate artistry and identity. This is where the concept of victory becomes critically important.
Examples from South African Football History
Previously, Stuart Baxter found himself in a situation that many coaches would envy. After Kaizer Chiefs won the league title, their players began performing tricks and entertaining the crowd. Baxter admitted that he tolerated such showy behavior because the team had already won the league. This small admission says more about football than any coaching philosophy.
When medals are already in the cabinet, a coach suddenly has more freedom to create spectacles. Pitso Mosimane took a tougher stance. After Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Orlando Pirates 6-0 in 2017, he spoke out against unnecessary showboating, stating that opponents deserved respect. Nevertheless, Mosimane could make this argument while being the coach of the Sundowns team, which was collecting trophies.
Mankoba Mngkiti made similar remarks years later, speaking about replacing players who engage in showmanship and insisting that what concerns him is the sight of the ball entering the net. He noted that an attack where the opponent is deceived is not showboating, and he believes Waddou has no problem with this.
There was also Rulani Mokwena, whose Sundowns teams placed a huge emphasis on ball possession, control, and tactical detail, dominating the Betway Premiership. Miguel Cardoso chose his own path, constantly demanding that emotions be directed towards the technical and tactical aspects of the game, rather than becoming a substitute for football itself.
The Common Denominator
The common thread in all these examples is that they had already achieved victory. And this is into this discussion that Waddou entered. League champions possess the privilege of answering questions about how football should be played. They can be uncompromising, arrogant, and claim that their method is the only correct one.
The trophy grants them this authority. This is the challenge for Waddou. He demands that South Africa accept his definition of professionalism while simultaneously strengthening his own authority at Pirates. Meanwhile, Orlando Pirates has conceded only eight goals in the league since the beginning of the current year, which indicates restraint.
This authority will ultimately be determined not by how loudly he speaks about showboating, but by results. If Pirates win the Betway Premiership, show serious results in Africa, and continue to fill their trophy cabinet, Waddou will be able to clearly instruct his players when to juggle, when to dribble, when to entertain, and when simply to score a goal.
No one will attach as much importance to this as the fact of victory itself. In South African football, success brings not only trophies; it gives the loudest voice in the debate about how those trophies should be won. Perhaps this is the lesson Waddou is finally learning.