'Ahly are used to the heat,' says Riveiro as Pirates line-up against African champions

The weather will play no part in helping Orlando Pirates in their battle against African champions Al Ahly at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

The two giants meet in match day 2 of the Caf Champions League's group C with both looking for a second victory after winning their first matches.

Pirates coach Jose Riveiro told the media in Orlando on Friday that though he expects the weather to be about 34ºC to 35ºC he doesn't see it as advantage for Pirates.

The Spaniard believes the Egyptian team, who are gunning to win this competition for a third time in row, are used to playing in scorching weather.

“I think they're used to the heat in Cairo,” he said. “It's going to be tough for both teams to play at 3pm. It's going to be 34-35ºC in Orlando and I hope the teams won't be affected.

“We're going to play the game in the same conditions, Ahly and ourselves, so it will not be an excuse for anyone. Football is played outdoors in different conditions. Sometimes it's raining, sometimes it's windy, but when you want to win games consistently you must adapt to the situation.

“Orlando will do it, Pirates will do it — and Al Ahly is used to playing in every possible scenario, they're not going to be affected by a hot day.”

Pirates have met Ahly four times before in this competition, all in 2013 when both sides reached the final. That year Pirates beat Ahly 3-0 away in a group match and drew 1-1 at home. Both sides progressed and met in the final where Ahly won 3-1 on aggregate.  

While Pirates regressed after 2013, hardly making the group stages until 2018-2019, Ahly have been unstoppable in recent years, winning the past two editions to put their Champions League tally of gongs on 12 — seven more than Morocco's Wydad Athletic and DR Congo's TP Mazembe, who have won it five times each.

Despite that pedigree, Riveiro is still confident his charges are capable of getting a good result against Percy Tau's team in Orlando on Saturday.

“First, it's an opportunity to keep learning for us as a group, keep growing and getting more mature. It's going to be a game played at a high tempo with 22 excellent football players on the field.

“It's an opportunity for us to increase our confidence and I said before we played in Algeria [against CR Belouizdad] that having a chance to play against these groups of young, talented players in this competition will be something I'm sure the club will capitalise on in the near future.

“This is an opportunity, whatever happens and whichever result we collect tomorrow [Saturday] — but I'm sure the team is going to be a better team. We're ambitious, we want to make sure we don't forget that we play for one result. We're playing at home and the only result we would like to collect here is a victory.” 

Riveiro was asked if Bafana Bafana attacker Tau could be a threat to Pirates because of his knowledge of the environment and some of the Bucs players he will face.

Of late, Tau has not been a regular starter in Marcel Koller's team and may even start Saturday's game on the bench. 

“Our plan is not really to focus on any individual,” he said. “It's never been like that — and this time is not going to be exceptional.”