Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has praised new Moroccan defender Abdelmounaim Boutouil after making his debut against La Passe.
Boutouil was announced by Downs on Deadline Day after some visa and registration issues. He made his debut on Friday when Masandawana thrashed Seychelles side, La Passe 8-1 to progress 15-1 on aggregate.
Manqoba spoke highly about the Moroccan defender and went on to compare him with Brazilian international Ricardo Nascimento. The 24-year-old came into the second half of the game and looked comfortable and settled.
“Technically he’s unbelievable, that’s the first thing I can tell you,” Manqoba told the media.
“Technically he makes fewer mistakes, he’s got a full range of passing, short, medium and long. Passes that break lines, pass that are targeting the opposite eight, passes that are targeting opposite wing-back or full-back can find the striker very easily.
“Technically you cannot fault anything from him. He is also very strong on set pieces arial is a very dominant figure in that space but his physical condition is not at the right level to make a lot of judgments.
“We brought him because in almost all the metrics he is very close if not better than what [Ricardo] Nascimento was providing.”
Boutouil is one of several high-profile signings of Masandawana as they try to lift their second CAF Champions League title this season.
