Abdeslam Ouaddou Opens Up on Lebone Seema’s Rise From Pirates Defender to Bafana Bafana Newcomer
- Lebone Seema has taken another major step in his career after earning his first Bafana Bafana call-up following his progress at Orlando Pirates
- Abdeslam Ouaddou has explained the qualities he has seen in Seema and the work that has gone into developing the young defender
- The Orlando Pirates coach has also revealed what he hopes Seema will gain from his first experience with the South African national team
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Abdeslam Ouaddou has opened up about Lebone Seema’s rise from an Orlando Pirates defender to a new face in the Bafana Bafana squad. The 24-year-old was named in Pitso Mosimane’s first squad for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
His inclusion follows an impressive 2025/26 Betway Premiership season, during which he was voted Defender of the Season.
Ouaddou was speaking after Seema scored his second goal of the current campaign in Pirates’ 2-0 victory over Durban City on 17 September.
The Pirates coach welcomed Mosimane’s decision to select the defender and highlighted the work Seema has put in.
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“I thank Pitso for calling him. It means that he had been following his work since last season,” Ouaddou said, as reported by SABC Sport.
“He’s the future of South Africa. We have such talent in that position in South Africa.”
Orlando Pirates coach explains Seema’s development
According to Ouaddou, one of the biggest factors behind Seema’s development has been his response to coaching. The Pirates boss described the defender as someone who listens, learns and remains open to correction.
“He’s somebody that has a good mentality. Professional, coachable,” Ouaddou said.
The Moroccan coach also revealed that Seema had faced plenty of pressure from him behind the scenes. He said his tough approach was intended to help the defender raise his standards and improve his performances.
“He started to know me now, sometimes I can be hard with him and last season I was really hard with him but for his good, for his performance,” he explained.
Seema’s improvement has not been limited to his defensive responsibilities. Ouaddou said the technical team spent considerable time refining his distribution, including when to play short and when to use longer passes.
“We spoke a lot about the quality of his passes, the alternation between short and long passes, the duels and of course, like you said, he has a lot of progression,” the coach added.
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Lebone Seema gets chance to impress for Bafana
Seema’s call-up gives him an opportunity to work with Mosimane as Bafana prepare for their upcoming international commitments. Ouaddou hopes the experience will benefit both the defender and Pirates.
“I hope he is going to continue and to bring us the experience from the national team,” he said.
The coach also thanked Mosimane for recognising Seema’s qualities.
“Again, thanks to Pitso for seeing his qualities.”
Seema’s first Bafana Bafana call-up follows his emergence as a key defender at Orlando Pirates. Ouaddou’s comments provide insight into the work behind his progress and the areas the club has been helping him develop.
Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana squad takes shape
Briefly News also reported that Pitso Mosimane has been shaping his first Bafana Bafana squad since returning as head coach, with several players receiving their maiden senior call-ups.
Among them is Orlando Pirates striker Yanela Mbuthuma, whose selection prompted questions about his goalscoring numbers. Mosimane has since explained that he also considered the forward’s physical presence, hunger and ability to score.
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Source: Briefly News
