Pirates’ ability to dig deep in every game can give Riveiro a hero’s send-off

Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro was in no mood to allow the glare of attention on his exit from the club at the end of the season to distract him or his players from focusing on the big task of booking a place in the semifinals of the Caf Champions League.

Pirates announced last Thursday that Riveiro will be leaving the club at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. The announcement came a few days after the Spaniard had led the Buccaneers to a crucial 1-0 victory over MC Alger (MCA) of Algeria in last Tuesday's first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.

In his prematch media briefing ahead of Wednesday's second leg clash at Orlando Stadium (6pm), Riveiro insisted the club's focus is solely on defending their lead and winning the quarterfinal to reach a first Champions League semifinal since losing against Al Ahly in the 2013 final.

Having won an incredible five domestic cup trophies as he nears the end of his third season with Bucs, it was hoped, at least by Pirates fans, Riveiro would sign a new contract to keep him at the club longer.

However, if anyone was looking for an explanation for why Riveiro opted to leave and how the whole saga has affected him and his players ahead of the big match in Orlando on Wednesday, the press conference on Tuesday was definitely not the right platform to get answers.

Riveiro and his captain, Innocent Maela, ducked many questions intended to provide insight into the emotions and mood in the Pirates camp after last week's announcement. Instead of answering those questions. All the duo was prepared to discuss was the match on Wednesday.

That clash will be critical to Riveiro and his players' CVs, as they would become just the third Pirates side to reach the last four of the competition, also following the squad of 1995 that went all the way to become the first South African side to win the tournament.

“I think we have a huge game tomorrow that demands our full concentration and the best of our capacity,” was Riveiro's response when asked how the news about his future has been received at the club ahead of Wednesday's game.

“We need to be 100% focused on that responsibility that is presented to us. There's no space to think about anything else [and no option other] than to give our best tomorrow. That's maybe how we can think about it; our future is tomorrow. Whatever is coming for us in the future, let's see, but I think now it's just about the game. And trust me, not the coach and not anyone else around us is thinking about anything else than winning the game.”

It's obviously there for everyone to see, the way the team managed to go through difficult moments in all of those games [in North Africa]. It talks a lot about their capacity to compete because this competition is not about making it beautiful. It is about digging deep in each and every phase of the game and being better than the opponents during at least four or five different moments that you have to play in the 90 minutes.

—  Jose Riveiro

Having won the first leg 1-0 in Algiers last week, with Mohau Nkota's strike giving the Buccaneers a hard-fought victory, Riveiro said the presence of the club's faithful in Orlando will give the players a huge boost against Khaled Ben Yahia's side, which he described as dangerous.

“It's key,” said the 49-year-old coach of the influence of Pirates' supporters. “We're at home [in the second leg] because of them. It's something we gained, game after game. Every time we played here at home, we gained the support.

“We gained the energy playing good football games and getting good results. Everybody is happy to see the guys playing here at home. Tomorrow, we have a big opportunity to play a huge game together, the players, the technical staff and the fans as well. I'm sure that again, together we'll make it possible.”

Riveiro praised the resilience and capabilities of his team, which has seen them procure amazing results away from home against two powerhouses of Algeria, MCA and CR Belouizdad, and beating 12-time winners and defending champions Ahly in a campaign that has seen Bucs become the only team of all the quarterfinalists to go on an unbeaten run of 11 matches in which they've won eight.

“It's obviously there for everyone to see, the way the team managed to go through difficult moments in all of those games [in North Africa]. It talks a lot about their capacity to compete because this competition is not about making it beautiful. It is about digging deep in each and every phase of the game and being better than the opponents during at least four or five different moments that you have to play in the 90 minutes.

“It's different scenarios for both sides, and you must understand that right now we're talking about the quarterfinals of the Champions League. You're talking about the eight best teams on the continent, and you have to accept and assume that there are going to be moments when they dominate. They're going to submit to you sometimes, and you have to be better than them in that moment.

“I think in these games, especially the away ones, we went through those phases many times, and the team is confident because we know we're capable of being good in those moments of the game as well. That's why we're in the last eight of the competition, but tomorrow is a different story. Our journey has been excellent so far, but you can have a bad day in this competition and you're out.

“It doesn't matter all the games you've played before and how good you were. It's going to be a good memory in the future, but tomorrow those past games must give us reason to believe that even when we're going through those moments when we have to suffer, we know that we're capable of doing it and surviving at the end of the day.”

Orlando Pirates is a very tactically disciplined team. They have the composure and it's very difficult in our continent to find a team as opportunistic as this.

—  MCA coach Khaled Ben Yahia

In MCA, Pirates are facing a defence-minded side that only managed to score four goals and let in two in their six group matches, finishing second behind Al-Hilal of Sudan. Compare that to Pirates, who scored 14 and let in seven, and you can see the difference in approach between the two sides.

In MCA's three away matches they notched draws — against TP Mazembe (0-0), Al-Hilal (1-1), and Young Africans (0-0) — which further confirms they may struggle in Orlando against a Pirates side that has always done well in their home matches in this competition this season.

But MCA coach Ben Yahia, a vastly experienced 65-year-old Tunisian who joined the club in December, promised an attacking game against a team he described as opportunistic after winning the first leg with the only shot Bucs had on target.

“We're going to provide a high-quality game for the fans because we're facing a quality side. Orlando Pirates is a very tactically disciplined team. They have the composure and it's very difficult in our continent to find a team as opportunistic as this. They're very opportunistic,” Ben Yahia said.

“We find it difficult to deal with that kind of discipline in a game with their level of focus. I'm very envious of Pirates. Coming to our team, we frustrated them physically and tactically, but we lacked the finishing. But I know that we played well.”