Mngqithi sings praises of ‘technically gifted’ Boutouil

Manqoba Mngqithi cannot help but rave about Abdelmounaim Boutouil’s technical ability.

Tall in stature and an overall imposing figure, Boutouil made his Sundowns debut this past weekend in Downs’ walkover against La Passe, beating them 8-1 in the second-leg of the Caf Champions League qualifiers to round off an emphatic 15-1 aggregate scoreline.

The Moroccan centre-back came in as a late substitute and Mngqithi was impressed with Boutouil’s display, going as far as likening him to former Sundowns defender Ricardo Nascimento, who forms part of Royal AM’s rearguard nowadays.

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“Technically he is unbelievable, you cannot fault anything from him,” said Mngqithi, who went on to rave about the 24-year-old’s passing game.

“He makes less mistakes and he has a full range of passing from long and short passing. He plays passes that break lines, he can target the wingers and he can find a striker very easily.

“He is very strong in step-pieces and he is a dominant figure aerially. His physical condition is not yet at the right level to make a lot of judgement. We brought him to the team because in all the metrics, he is very close if not better than what you would get from a Nascimento,” said the Downs coach.

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Masandawana resume domestic action this week, facing Marumo Gallants on Wednesday in the DStv Premiership, before an appointment with Orlando Pirates in an MTN8 semifinal second leg on Saturday. Downs are playing the Buccaneers in a home-away-from-home as the match will take place at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. Mngqithi is excited that his attackers are firing on all cylinders.

Youngster Cassius Mailula netted a couple of goals in the win over the Seychelles part-timers, while Gift Motupa scored a brace as he found the back of the net for the first time in about 17 months.

“We must be happy for these boys when they start to score goals. The reason why we keep them in the team is because we know the quality that they possess,” said Mngqithi.

“I was happy for Gift for scoring those goals and I am also happy for Haashim Domingo for scoring after coming back from a very awkward injury. It is really encouraging to see that everybody is raising their hand.”