Hopefully not at this time: Riveiro on chance of Pirates facing Sundowns in Caf KOs

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is already planning for the quarterfinals of the Caf Champions League, the draw for which takes place in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday.

The Pirates coach was asked after his team's 3-0 Nedbank Cup last 16 win against Baroka FC on Saturday if it will be calamitous for Pirates to be drawn against Sundowns in the last eight. Downs put a dent in what had been a show of confidence on multiple fronts by the Buccaneers, and signs of a Betway Premiership title challenge, as the Brazilians thrashed Pirates 4-1 in the league just over a week ago.

Riveiro said a Champions League quarterfinal clash — or semifinal, should that be the way the competition pans out — between the two South African sides would not be ideal and he hopes if they do meet in the 2024-25 competition, it will be in the semifinals or even the final. If it happens in the quarters, the coach said, the silver lining for Bucs and Downs would be not travelling outside the country. 

Pirates finished top of group C in the round-robin phase with an impressive unbeaten campaign. Sundowns were second in group B, new coach Miguel Cardoso arriving to perform something of a rescue mission after the Brazilians' progression was made tricky by an opening draw at home to minnows AS Maniema Union.

Those positions mean there is a possibility of Pirates, who will be in pot 1 in the draw, being pitted against Downs, who will be in pot 2. Ending as group winners also hands Bucs an advantage of playing the first leg in the quarters away. The two-legged quarterfinals take place on the weekends of March 29 and 30 and April 5 and 6.

“It's one of the three we can get in the draw,” Riveiro said. “If it's Sundowns, it will be good that we're not going to travel so far. It will be good for the planning for both teams — we know each other very well and we have a league game on [March 15] as well.

“For me to make any comment about possibilities in the draw, we have our conversations among ourselves in the technical team [about that]. Basically, for the way we play football more than anything else, if it's Sundowns I think it's going to be a big clash for the country. It would attract a lot of attention, one more time.

“Hopefully it's not this time [in the quarters], hopefully it's later in the competition. It could be much better for all of us if it happens at the end.”

Riveiro has less depth at his disposal than Cardoso has at perennial Champions League knockout competitors of the last year, Sundowns, and Pirates showed signs of fatigue in their heavy league defeat against the Brazilians.

With many matches still to come this season, and his team battling on many fronts, Riveiro was pleased Pirates could comfortably avoid going to extra time against Baroka at Orlando Stadium.

The Buccaneers beat the Motsepe Foundation Championship side from Limpopo 3-1 with striker Tshegofatso Mabasa scoring a wonderful hat-trick to keep Riveiro's team in the frame for winning the trophy for the third successive time, as they did the MTN8 in the opening half of the 2024-25 campaign.

With Pirates also in contention for the Caf Champions League and breathing down Sundowns' necks in the Premiership amid a gruelling schedule of travel, matches and chasing trophy glory, Riveiro said Bucs were pleased to wrap up Saturday's game within 90 minutes having gone to the break leading 2-0.

“Obviously if there's something we don't need, [which] is extra time, because it will affect a lot in our planning for the next one,” said Riveiro, who has won the Nedbank twice alongside the three MTN8 gongs, as domestic cup success has been the 47-year-old Spaniard's forte in his two-and-half seasons at Bucs.

“We have a difficult game away against Golden Arrows [in the Premiership, in Durban on Wednesday] and we're hosting Cape Town City here [at Orlando] on Saturday. It's good to finish the game inside the 90 minutes.

There are already players who are not going to participate in the next game due to suspension, for example, and we have to evaluate which players are more ready to go again on Wednesday. There's a lot of components that dictate who's going to play. It's too early to know what's going to happen on Wednesday.

—  Jose Riveiro

“Not because we felt the game was over, but in this game of football you never know. Getting a 3-0 lead gave us an opportunity to take off Relebohile [Mofokeng] to give him some rest. He's one of the players, together with Deon [Hotto], who is always playing, is in the game almost every minute. We're happy to finish this round in 90 minutes.”

The Pirates coach said it is critical at this time of the season to be careful about how you rotate your players. Without revealing his plans against Arrows, Riveiro said he will take into account Pirates' suspensions and injuries before finalising his team for the Durban match.

Pirates need all three points against Arrows to stay in touch with Sundowns, who lead them by nine points in the Premiership, though Bucs have two games in hand.

“Obviously I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to do on Wednesday. We're following one line during the season — we're doing our best to help the players to recover to have as much as possible and be available for selection.

“There are already players who are not going to participate in the next game due to suspension, for example, and we have to evaluate which players are more ready to go again on Wednesday. There's a lot of components that dictate who's going to play. It's too early to know what's going to happen on Wednesday.”