Friday Jul 01, 2022. 13:00
With Orlando Pirates appointing Jose Riveiro as their new head coach, an South African ex-footballer who worked with the Spaniard, labelled him as a ‘professor’ as he gave insights to the club’s new mentor.
Pirates took to their social media pages last week in revealing Riveiro, which caught many supporters off-guard. Coming in as unknown football figure in South Africa, Riveiro roped in Sergio Almenara as his assistant, along with fitness trainer Miguel Bellver Esteve.
Now though, former footballer Leroy Maluka said that Riveiro is a ‘mastermind’ and that the club should trust him in undertaking his new job.
“From what I know, he is almost like a professor of football,” Maluka told Soccer Laduma.
“He’s a mastermind. He knows the game; he has studied the game. He is a very professional coach. He’s special. I like the way he works.
“He has no special character, you know – he doesn’t like to talk too much, he likes to just do his business, but he also has a good sense of humour. No, I like the guy; he’s a good guy.
“Is Pirates ready for him? Because Pirates is a big club, but he’s also a big coach. And even though he’s not a big name or popular name, he has done amazing things in Finland.
“For example, he has changed the football culture in the Finnish league. I’m just hoping that Pirates can allow him to do what he came to do, and then, of course, you know, if it doesn’t work in the end, then we can start pointing fingers. But in the beginning, they should trust the guy and let him do his thing.”
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