“It is not about when he was born, whether he is 19, 20 or 30 years old. It does not make any difference, because when a player is ready, he is ready — and when he is talented, he is talented.
“People usually talk about the risks of playing a young player, but for me the risk is playing a player who is not ready. It does not matter whether a player is 20 or 30 years old.
“In our case, the boys are showing that they are ready and capable to survive in different environments — and we are happy about that.
“They are also inspiring other youngsters in our structures to be ready, because age is not going to be a problem if they are ready.”
Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says age is just a number as teenage Nkota continues to impress
Image: Alche Greeff/BackpagePix
Last season it was Relebohile Mofokeng and now it is Mohau Nkota.
Orlando Pirates keep churning out exciting young talent — and coach Jose Riveiro says credit must go to their scouting department for their recruitment.
Last season Riveiro unleashed Mofokeng to devastating effect as he helped the Buccaneers finish in second spot in the league and qualify for the Champions League and also win the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup. Mofokeng earned his Bafana Bafana debut in the process and now gets regular call-ups to the national squad.
Riveiro then unleashed Nkota, who has sparkled with four goals in his seven starts in all competitions.
On Tuesday Pirates beat CR Belouizdad of Algeria 2-1 away from home in their opening match of their Champions League group stages, with Mofokeng assisting Nkota for both goals.
“From the club’s perspective the key is recruitment, which is like any other club in the world. It is having a good scouting structure with the capacity to get talent to the academy,” said Riveiro.
Mofokeng and Nkota are both 20 and Riveiro said he will always give players a chance regardless of their age.
“From my point of view, I don’t see the players as youngsters with inexperience or those with experience — but the key issue for me is whether a player is good or not good enough. The key thing for me is whether a player is ready or not — or is he convenient for the game or not.
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“It is not about when he was born, whether he is 19, 20 or 30 years old. It does not make any difference, because when a player is ready, he is ready — and when he is talented, he is talented.
“People usually talk about the risks of playing a young player, but for me the risk is playing a player who is not ready. It does not matter whether a player is 20 or 30 years old.
“In our case, the boys are showing that they are ready and capable to survive in different environments — and we are happy about that.
“They are also inspiring other youngsters in our structures to be ready, because age is not going to be a problem if they are ready.”
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