Bucs' Riveiro 'under no extraordinary pressure' to win second trophy
Image: Veli Nhlapo
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro insists he's not under extraordinary pressure to win the Nedbank Cup after falling short in the DStv Premiership, in which the Buccaneers are still trying to finish second behind champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Riveiro is, however, fully aware of the state of affairs when it comes to Pirates winning trophies.
The Spaniard has done better than most coaches in the PSL, after guiding his team to winning the MTN8 in the first four months of his arrival in South Africa.
“No,” was Riveiro's emphatic answer when asked this week about the pressure of winning a second cup as Bucs coach.
“You're introducing the pressure like something negative or something extra in our job, when in fact we're always looking for results.
“It's a competition, and there's an opponent in front you who also wants to produce the best result as everybody. It's not a negative thing. Imagine if I said that we're going to the game without any pressure. I'm going to look arrogant or relaxed, when it's not the case.”
Pirates have to beat third-tier Gauteng side Dondol Stars to reach the semifinal of a competition they last won under Serbian-born coach Vladimir Vermezovic in 2014.
“We're 100% concentrating on the task,” said Riveiro about Bucs' ambitions in the cup competition.
“We have experience already in the Nedbank Cup to play with teams from the lower leagues. I don't know how the match is going to be, but there's no extra pressure.
“The pressure is always there and I've said that working for a club like Orlando Pirates, the expectations are always high. The fans are expecting us to be in the next round.
“We'll start the game with people already thinking we've won (because they are playing against amateurs), but for us it makes the task much more difficult. But there's no extra pressure, it's the same pressure as usual. We have to go and get a win, that's the idea.”
The Peter Mokaba Stadium, where the match will be played on Saturday (3pm), will evoke great memories for many Bucs faithful as it was in that venue that they dispatched Sundowns 3-0 in the semifinal of the MTN8 in October last year.
“In my opinion, I hope players feel comfortable wherever we play,” said Riveiro.
“We have been playing away games in recent times and we've been having good performances, very good results. We just want to continue with that because we're in a good moment.
“We want to go to the game and overcome the next obstacle and make sure that we can see ourselves in the next round.”