Orlando Pirates announced former Morocco centre-back Abdeslam Ouaddou as their new head coach on Monday, replacing José Riveiro - who left for Egypt's Al Ahly.
Ouaddou, who is 46 years old, played for the Morocco national team from 2000-2009. His club playing career saw him play in the Premier League with Fulham (2001-2005) and later for several French and Qatari clubs, as well as Greek giants Olympiacos.
While at Fulham, he was a teammate of Luis Boa Morte, who had an unsuccessful stint as a player for Pirates towards the end of his career.
Orlando Pirates said in a statement on the club website: "Born in Alnif, Morocco, the 46-year-old brings a wealth of experience both as a player and a tactician. A former Moroccan international, Ouaddou earned 68 caps for The Atlas Lions and enjoyed a distinguished playing career across several top European leagues.
"His deep understanding of the game, coupled with a strong leadership profile, positions him well to lead the Buccaneers into a new era.
"Coach Ouaddou, who is expected to arrive in South Africa towards the end of the week, will be assisted by Mandla Ncikazi and Rayaan Jacobs, Helmi Gueldich and Tyron Damons."
Ouaddou's appointment will likely come as a surprise to supporters. No clear frontrunner had emerged for the job, but Rhulani Mokwena had been linked with a return to the club he led as head coach in 2019. In fairness, Mokwena has also been linked with a move to African champions Pyramids since his departure from Morocco's Wydad Casablanca.
Ouaddou - a dual Moroccan-French national - was an assistant coach for the Algeria national team under Djamel Belmadi in 2020. He then returned to Morocco to take charge of Mouloudia d'Oujda and subsequently had a stint coaching Benin's Loto-Popo FC.
Arguably, his first major break as a head coach came with Congolese giants AS Vita in 2024, before his stint in charge of Marumo Gallants in the Betway Premiership towards the end of the 2024-25 season.
Despite an impressive playing career, Ouaddou's resumé is not as decorated as that of many of his rivals in the Betway Premiership. However, the club has been known to take chances on up-and-coming head coaches. José Riveiro was infamously dubbed a "plumber" by critics when he took charge of the Buccaneers in 2022.
This was a loose reference to former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi's 2018 quip that UEFA coaching qualifications are overvalued compared to CAF qualifications to the extent that "when a plumber comes with a [UEFA] Pro Licence in our country he would earn so much respect".
Mngqithi, it must be noted, was not referring to Riveiro when he made this remark, but critics of Riveiro claimed when he arrived in South Africa four years later that he fit the bill due to his lack of high-profile coaching experience at the time - two league titles and a cup triumph in Finland notwithstanding.
However, Riveiro proved his critics wrong by delivering three MTN8 trophies and two Nedbank Cup titles at Orlando Pirates - also leading them to three consecutive top two finishes in the Premiership and a CAF Champions League semi-final last season.
Ouaddou thus has big shoes to fill. However, after leading Marumo Gallants out of a relegation dogfight and into 10th place in last season's Betway Premiership with results including a 2-0 win over Pirates, the Buccaneers believe they have seen enough in the Moroccan tactician for him to be their next big gamble.