Riveiro sets his sights on the CAFCL.

Having had a fantastic domestic season, where they won the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup titles, also finishing second on the league, Orlando Pirates have every right to dream of bigger fish to fry, like the CAF Champions League.

And that is exactly what Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro, has set his sights on.

Riveiro says he is optimistic that Pirates can go all the way in Africa.

With their rich history in the continent, having managed to reach four finals, with two Champions League, of which they won one, and two CAF Confederations Cup, plus their recent revival, anything is possible.

"What are we going to do in Africa, dream…dream and we have the potential to go all the way, I’m a very optimistic person, I told you guys many times, don’t get me wrong with my face, I’m very optimistic," Riveiro said as quoted by iDiski Times. https://www.idiskitimes.co.za/caf-champions-league/riveiro-makes-bold-cafcl-statement-citing-sundowns/

"So when I start a tournament, I’m going with the intention to go all the way. Then let’s see, we’re going to find difficult trips, difficult opponents, difficult decisions from the referees, it’s a difficult competition, it is."

Riveiro says if Sundowns can do as well as they did in the CAFCL last season, so can Pirates.

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"But Sundowns did a fantastic job this season, they showed it’s possible for South African teams to compete until the last stages, so why not? We go little by little, we all start from zero again in every competition and we will face everyone with the intention to compete."

Bucs are also expected to put on a real fight for the DStv Premiership title next season, having shown great promise in the previous campaign, and finally end Sundowns dominance in the domestic football scene.

Happiness lives at Orlando Pirates.

If happiness was a football club, that club would be Orlando Pirates.

The Buccaneers completed their successful 2022/23 season by lifting the Nedbank Cup after beating Sekhukhune United 2-1.

Having won the MTN8 earlier in the season, Pirates also finished second on the log, earning themselves a place in the CAF Champions League.

Jose Riveiro, who is in his first season with Bucs, and also in the running for coach of the season, should be commended for the brilliant work he has done with the club.

To achieve what he achieved in his debut season is no small feat.

It is in the way he went about winning the double and qualifying for the CAFCL that Riveiro has been impressive.

Amabhakaniya play attractive, attacking football that maximizes the strength of their players.

Defensively, they are solid, which speaks volumes about Riveiro's tactical acumen. To achieve the kind of balance between offensive and defensive play he has been able to achieve is not an easy thing to do. But the Spaniard has done it with aplomb.

It is his players that Riveiro is proud of, whom he says they did everything, and everything they did!

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"My players did everything, it’s not easy to play in an exciting day like today,” said Riveiro as quoted by iDiski Times.

"We are learning, we are getting better. We want to play more finals, so this is going to be a good learning process for us.

"I’m extremely happy with the victory, as you can imagine, for everybody, for the fans, for the people in the club, family, friends."

With the kind of performances they displayed this season, one can boldly say that Pirates will be the team to beat next season.

If Riveiro, once called a 'plumber', can achieve what he achieved in his first season, more can be expected from him, a league title maybe? 

Truter showers Riveiro with praises before Nedbank Cup final showdown.

                 Image: iDiskiTv

Brandon Truter knows how to talk a good game before a big game.

The Sekhukhune United coach has showered his Orlando Pirates counterpart, Jose Riveiro with sweet praises ahead of the two sides Nedbank Cup final clash on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

If anything, Riveiro should be blushing from Truter's praises.

Nonetheless, none of what Truter says about the Spanish tactician is lie.

Orlando Pirates play some attractive attacking football, and slowly but surely, one can see the identity that Riveiro is instilling in the team.

A second place finish, which takes Pirates to the CAF Champions League, an MTN8 trophy in the bag, and a Nedbank Cup final, which could mean another trophy loading, means Riveiro deserves all the praises he can get, and Truter is not stingy with them.

"Jose has done fantastically well this season," he said as quoted by iDiski Times. https://www.idiskitimes.co.za/nedbank-cup/riveiro-improves-sa-football-truter/

"In terms of the strides that he made at the club, at Pirates, creating an identity as well.

"This is the type of coaches we should be attracting to the PSL, in terms of adding value to the product, in terms of helping our development in South Africa as a country where football is going.

"I think Pirates at this stage has a clear identity of attractive, attacking football and that’s how you want football to be played in the end of the day.

"That identity is clear, also with the striker’s coach and coach Mandla [Ncikazi] as well."

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Perhaps, one of the biggest truths in Truter's praise of Riveiro, is the fact that Orlando Pirates didn't bring one of the 'Plumbers' from overseas to coach the club, but a quality coach.

"I think they’ve bridged some gaps there on foreign coaches coming into the country as well, it’s not just adding numbers, but adding quality to the league."

Brakkies, as Truter is also known, deserves sweet praises of his own.

He managed to lift Sekhukhune from the relegation zone into a 7th place finish in the DStv Premiership.

With Pirates having finished second, therefore qualifying for the CAFCL, It means Sekhukhune, by virtue of reaching the Nedbank Cup final, have qualified for the CAF Confederations Cup. 

Dzvukamanja has won Riveiro's heart.

Terrence Dzvukamanja has risen from the verge of obscurity and turned himself into a regular goalscorer for Orlando Pirates, leaving his coach, Jose Riveiro smitten with his exploits.

Dzvukamanja has scored seven goals in 17 appearances for Pirates across all competitions, with one assist added to his name.

His goal scoring form has seen other forwards like Kermit Erasmus spending more time on the bench.

Riveiro says Dzvukamanja is an exceptional, smart player who has shown that he can score goals.

"Terrence is an experienced player, he proved himself in many teams that he has the capacity to score. It was a difficult beginning of the season for Terrence in terms of minutes and liability also to be selected in the season," said Riveiro as quoted by SABC Sport. https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/orlando-pirates-coach-on-striker-terrence-dzvukamanja-s-purple-patch

"In a team like this with the competition that they have in that position, it's difficult to get the chance. Once he started to get that continuity to complete weeks, to train and be available for selection, he showed that he's an exceptional player.

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"He's a very smart player with a capacity to score goals like he showed in the recent games. We are all trying, not only myself to help every individual to perform their best and we would like to see Terrence scoring goals."

We have a small minimal advantage - Riveiro on CAFCL spot race.

After their 1-1 draw against Sekhukhune United on Saturday afternoon, Orlando Pirates now have SuperSport United breathing down their necks in the race for the CAF Champions League spot.

Both teams are on 51 points heading towards match day 30, with Pirates second by virtue of a better goal difference.

Always sober minded in his comments, Orlando Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro says they only have a small advantage over SuperSport in the CAFCL spot race, and they have no choice but to put AmaZulu to the sword in Durban next weekend.

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"We need to win. Firstly, it's going to be a difficult game, away. AmaZulu is an excellent team so we need to think about how we are going to win the game. It's the last game of the season. So we need to win, we need the three points," said Riveiro as quoted by SABC Sport. https://www.sabcsport.com/soccer/news/victory-the-only-way-to-secure-champions-league-spot-jose-riveiro

"We have a small minimal advantage but if you think about the scenario three months ago and the advantage that our opposition had in that moment, I think we can be proud of the performance of the team in the last part of the season."

While Pirates will visit AmaZulu for their last game of the season, SuperSport have a tricky fixture of their own away to Sekhukhune United. 

Top coach Riveiro is, but he would make an even greater sailor!

 

Football coaches in general, rarely come cool, calm, and collected as Orlando Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro. Seeing the Spaniard losing his mind on the dugout is a rare occurrence.

When he first joined Pirates, he was given the famous ‘plumber’ tag, which was an insult, because the man would have made a terrible plumber, honestly.

A sailor, now that would suit him. Imagine calm Riveiro sailing against raging sea waters in the middle of a terrible storm that threatens to sink his ship and kill thousands aboard. While everyone else is struck by a mixture of fear and panic, running around screaming their lungs out, Riveiro would be the only cool head aboard, telling everyone to calm down because there is actually no danger. I kid you not.

The buccaneers’ ship is not going through a storm, but it has not been smooth sailing either.

Pirates miss a lot of chances. If it wasn’t for that, they are one team who would have pushed Mamelodi Sundowns harder in the race for the league title.

Looking at their stats makes for some impressive reading.

Pirates average a good 0.69 goals conceded per match in the league. They are third, behind Sundowns and TS Galaxy when it comes to the goals conceded column in the Dstv premiership, having let in 18 goals so far.

They create decent goal scoring chances too! With an average expected goals of 1.57 per match. Their average shots taken per game in the league is also impressive, with 11.35, but their conversion rate has been their biggest let down, with 11%.

But the cool, calm, and collected Riveiro is not frustrated. In his world, all is well.  

“Frustration is not the word,” said Riveiro as quoted by Times Live

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/soccer/2023-04-25-why-jose-riveiro-is-not-fussed-that-orlando-pirates-are-still-missing-chances/

 “I'm not coming to the games thinking we're going to win 5-0 and if we're not at 5-0 at halftime I get frustrated. I know how difficult it is.

“We played a good game against SuperSport but we only scored one penalty after 70 minutes. We played against Maritzburg [United] and suddenly [Monnapule] Saleng shoots from nowhere and the ball is in the net.

“It's a complicated game and you have to control a lot of things to get a result. But I'm not frustrated because I know how much it takes.

“We have to work a lot to create one chance and to make sure that chance is not going to result in a transition immediately after we have it.

“I think that's one of the keys in this moment for us, probably the main change in the second part of the season. No we have the capacity to play more in the half of the opponent and you do that your probabilities to score increase.”

What Riveiro says makes a lot of sense, which is another great quality of the man; he knows how to talk a good game. And he knows his football.

But his calmness! Now that takes the cake. A great sailor, Jose would become.

 

Riveiro says Pirates is in love with cup games, and of course, winning them.

               Image: Facebook

Orlando Pirates will face their arch-rivals, Kaizer Chiefs in the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.

Their head coach, Jose Riveiro admits that his side likes to play cup games.

Pirates won the MTN8 title earlier in the season when they beat AmaZulu 1-0 in Durban, and they will have their sights set on slaying beating chiefs to advance to the finals of the Nedbank Cup, in what would be the sweetest revenge for Bucs after Amakhosi got the better of them twice this season in the Dstv Premiership.

Winning a double would be a major achievement for the Spaniard who has managed to turn things around at Pirates, by getting them to play some beautiful football without compromising their defensive organization.

"We have good memories, bad as well. I think we struggled here with Sekhukhune [United], if I’m not mistaken," said Riveiro as quoted by iDiski Times. https://www.idiskitimes.co.za/nedbank-cup/riveiro-targets-second-cup-final-with-pirates/

"But it’s a good place for us, important, special. We like to play the cups, these knockout games we really do and like you said last time we managed to play a good final, to get a title and that’s the intention in every competition.

"We are representing Orlando Pirates so it goes without saying that it’s a must to fight to be there. And Being there is a different story it depends on a lot of factors but the team is really focused and doing everything in order to make our fans happy.

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"Now we really have the possibility to see ourselves in another final."

The urgent matter for Pirates though, is the Caf Champions League spot, and they will continue gunning for it when they host Cape Town City on Saturday 22 April at Orlando Stadium.

Kick-off is at 15:00.

If we were playing basketball, we probably could have won with a 30 or 40 points - Riveiro.

According to Orlando Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro, his side did enough to beat Dondol Stars in regulation time, but they were just unlucky with their final touch.

Amabhakaniya had to go through the agony of a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw with the third tiers after extra-time.

 "I was quite calm on the bench. I was quite sure that we would make it before the penalties, but it’s a football game, and anything can happen," Riveiro told the media as quoted by Goal.com
https://www.goal.com/en-za/news/did-orlando-pirates-underrate-dondol-stars-in-nedbank-cup-riveiro-was-quite-sure-bucs-will-not-go-to-penalties/bltac488e6120e47e18

"If we were playing basketball, we probably could have won with a 30 or 40 points advantage. But this is football, and it’s very complex. It’s easy and complex at the same time, but these things can happen."

"[Penalties] are not what we planned. But at the same time, it was not a surprise. It’s a cup game, and these games are special, that’s why we love the cups everywhere around the world, and South Africa is not an exception."

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Riveiro admitted they faced a good team in Dondol, taking a veiled dig at Supersport United and AmaZulu, by mentioning how there are couple of teams in the PSL who know Dondol very well.

"We faced a good team, there are a couple of PSL teams who can tell you about them, and we managed to do enough to avoid the penalties, to be honest, but we were very unlucky in the last touch."

Riveiro sings Chaine's praises.

Orlando Pirates head coach, Jose Riveiro has come out in full praise of his goalkeeper, Sipho Chaine.

Chaine, who joined Pirates from Chippa United in the middle of the season, has surpassed all expectations, turning the Pirates number one jersey into his own.

The 26-year-old has since appeared 15 times for Pirates across all competitions, keeping six clean sheets, with 12 goals conceded.

Riveiro, says Chaine's continued selection ahead of Siyabonga Mpontshane and Richard Ofori is not by chance.

"He is a guy who is really putting in everything in order to make it. It is not by chance, I have to say, it's not just a lucky moment," said Riveiro during the Nedbank Cup press conference ahead of their quarterfinal clash against Dondol Stars.

"He is doing everything to be there, to perform, to be at the level that is required to be in the Pirates squad and the starting 11."

ALSO READ: https://safootballtxt.blogspot.com/2023/04/riveiro-emphasizes-importance-of-team.html?m=1

Besides Chaine, Riveiro is happy with the efforts of other individual players at Pirates, saying their top performances are contributing positively to the teams current good run of form, making him look better as a coach.

"[Other]Individuals are coming to the party as well, and we get a benefit as a collective, and they make me look even better as a coach."

Orlando Pirates are on a four match winning streak in the Dstv Premiership, having last lost a match 1-0 in the Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs.

They will be looking to continue with their rich vein of form when they meet Dondol Stars on Saturday afternoon at Peter Mokaba Stadium.