Riveiro: Bucs showing good symptoms for the future

by Staff Reporter

Sunday May 21, 2023. 13:00

Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro believes the future looks bright for the club after guiding them back to the CAF Champions League by clinching second place in the DStv Premiership.

The Buccaneers beat AmaZulu 4-0 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday to close the season on a nine-match unbeaten run as they pipped SuperSport United to the runners-up spot.

The two teams went into the final day deadlocked on 51 points, although Matsatsantsa had to settle for CAF Confederation Cup football after being beaten 1-0 by Sekhukhune United at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Riveiro admits he’s not entirely happy with finishing second in the league and has vowed to challenge for the title next term, having shown promising signs in 2023, where they suffered just three defeats in 16 games.

“Congratulations to my players, it’s been a tough and long season with ups and downs but [we’re] showing good symptoms for the future,” the Spaniard told SuperSport.

“We’ve had a fantastic 2023, plenty of good results and I’m very, very happy for them because together we managed to put Orlando Pirates again in the Champions League for the next season, which is a competition we should be in every single year.

“It’s not everything we want, we are not fighting to be second but we couldn’t challenge the current champions in the whole season, just for a short period. We take the second place but we’re coming back soon.

“We have to challenge every team the next season, not only one – that’s what we want. There is room for improvement… we need to keep fighting.”

The MTN 8 champions will look to add another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet when they face Sekhukhune United in the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday, May 27.