‘My life will never be the same’: Riveiro on his extraordinary time at Pirates

After Orlando Pirates confirmed their place in the semifinals of the Caf Champions League by beating MC Alger at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night, Bucs coach José Riveiro finally poured his heart out about what it will mean for him to leave the club.

After three outstanding seasons, the 47-year-old Spaniard leaves an institution where he has come to be loved as he nears the end of his third and last season. 

Pirates chair Irvin Khoza revealed last week Riveiro will leave at the end of a campaign where he may have added another two cups (he has one already in 2024-25, the MTN8, and the Nedbank Cup can still be added) or even also the Betway Premiership or Champions League titles, for which Bucs remain in the hunt.

If Pirates were to take all three titles they still can win this season, Riveiro would become their most decorated coach in the PSL era with eight trophies, while also notching up an unprecedented quadruple this campaign.

Arriving in July 2022 with Pirates having won one trophy in six seasons, and having not won any silverware in his only previous job as a head coach at FC Inter Turku in Finland, Riveiro steered Bucs to five of seven domestic cups (three MTN8s and two Nedbank Cups). They were runners-up twice in the Premiership and will now be playing in their first Champions League semifinal since 2013.

Bucs drew 0-0 in the second leg in a match marred by unbecoming behaviour by fans entering the pitch and players scuffling among themselves and, those of Alger, with officials after the final whistle. Their win away last week guaranteed a 1-0 aggregate quarterfinal victory.

After resolving not to comment on his future, after Wednesday night's game, perhaps encouraged by the win, Riveiro spoke of what it has meant for him to be at the helm of one of the top clubs on the continent and what he will miss about the Buccaneers. 

“Yeah, you want me to be emotional now,” was his reaction when asked how he feels about what he's already accomplished at Pirates.

“My life will never be the same after being Pirates' coach. What else can I tell you?

“It's a big change in my life and I'm not talking about football or games. I'm talking about all of those things that you say about how the people are expressing themselves towards me. It's something [amazing].”

Riveiro, known for not expressing himself much at press conferences, had to be goaded to come out of his shell.

“The sacrifice is my job. The reason we're here is to try to do everything to put the club in the space Pirates deserve and the place where the fans want us to be. Trust me, we know what football [means] for them.

“We're talking about more than winning one game or not. We're talking about a lot of things in the society, and we have to be conscious of that.

“I know it every day when we wake up every morning to go to training, we know what we're going for and to who.

“And again, it's seven or eight weeks [of the season remaining], hopefully together we can go to the last stages of every competition and for sure [those games] are going to be special.

“But trust me, almost since I arrived here, if you speak about fans and not about you [the media], they were always really friendly and kind and special with the coach. 

“Like I said, my life will never be the same after being a Pirates coach because this is not just one more club, it's very special.”

Riveiro will also leave as the most successful coach at Pirates if he overcomes Pyramids FC of Egypt in the Champions League semifinals, with the first leg on April 18 in Orlando and second in Cairo on April 25. 

If Pirates progress to the final, which will be for the third time in their history after 1995 (won) and 2013 (runners-up), they may meet old foes and defending champions Al Ahly of Egypt or Mamelodi Sundowns. The latter scenario would be the first time clubs from the same country meet in the final of this competition.

But before Riveiro and his troops focus their attention on Pyramids, they will host Marumo Gallants in their Nedbank Cup semifinal at Orlando Stadium on Sunday.

Wresting the league title from seven-time successive champions Sundowns might seem a stretch for Pirates, though they have three games in hand that can help them close the 12-point gap on the Brazilians.