Ouaddou hails Pedersen debut but warns Norwegian needs…
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Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou praised new striker Sebastian Pedersen’s intelligence and technique after his debut against Sekhukhune United. Photo: Gallo Images
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Ouaddou hails Pedersen debut but warns Norwegian needs…
Aug 24, 2026 – 10:15 am
By Ernest Fakude
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has delivered his assessment of Sebastian Pedersen after the Norwegian striker finally made his first official appearance in the club’s famous colours last weekend.
Pedersen made his much-awaited debut as the Buccaneers beat Sekhukhune United 1-0 in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday, with Deon Hotto’s goal securing a slender advantage ahead of the second leg in Soweto.
Ouaddou was pleased with what he saw from the 24-year-old, who replaced Yanela Mbuthuma in the 65th minute, praising his intelligence on the ball and movement off it.
“I think he came with a lot of aim to score if he got a chance to open his goalscoring (chart). He fights, he joined the fighting spirit of our team. You can see really, he is clever,” said Ouaddou post-match.
“He is clever in the game. He is going into the spaces that we want to find him. He can find the deep… We are able to find him in the pocket. His technique quality is very interesting. I am sure that he is really going to help the team.”
However, the Pirates coach was quick to point out that Pedersen still needs to reach peak physical condition before he can fully showcase his abilities, noting that the striker faded after 15 minutes on the pitch.
“But, like I said in the previous press conference, the basics in football, even if you have such quality, you need good preparation. You need to be ready physically, and you can see today that after 15 minutes, he was short physically. We will keep working with him in order to bring him to the high level of fitness that I want for my game model.
“He still needs to increase the physical work to be able to shine and show us his quality because he has quality,” the former AS Vita coach added.
Pirates now need at least a draw in the second leg to qualify for their fifth consecutive MTN8 final, and Pedersen is expected to play in front of the Soweto giants’ home crowd for the first time when they host Sekhukhune in a Betway Premiership encounter at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Tuesday (19:30).