Jose Riveiro and Orlando Pirates have won all three of their league games so far. | . BackpagePix
Smiso Msomi
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has expressed great pleasure in his team’s shift in mentality in the opening rounds of the 2024/25 season.
The Buccaneers have one of the busiest schedules in domestic football with their participation in the CAF Champions League where they have qualified for the group stages. The Sea Robbers are also heading into the final of the MTN8 this Saturday with historic ambitions of being the first club to win the competition three times in a row.
Riveiro warmed up for that spectacle with a victory over Richards Bay in the Betway Premiership last Sunday and Pirates have also kept their 100% winning record going with three matches played.
They currently sit second behind Mamelodi Sundowns in the standings, a position they’ve finished in in the past two campaigns under Riveiro.
🎙️𝐎𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐏𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡| 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐲
— Samkelo Biyela (@Samkelo_kaay) September 30, 2024
🗣️“Giving a lot of value to the three points we know how difficult it was for us last season to play Richards Bay”
🗞️Story| @sportswireza#BetwayPrem #OrlandoPirates #RichardsBay pic.twitter.com/V2ujwjLQAs
The Spanish-born mentor has not hidden his ambitions to eventually topple the Brazilians and break their decade-long stranglehold on domestic football.
The opening round of the league has been identified as the Achilles heel for Pirates in recent seasons, however, the Soweto giants seemed determined to put that right this season. Riveiro has seen his team win eight and draw two of the 10 games they’ve played so far in all competitions and they look like a side well in control of their destiny.
When quizzed about the difference in his side this season, Riveiro explained that it was a combination of lessons learnt during his tenure that has seen his group start the season psychologically ready for battle.
“There is never only one reason to find yourself in the situation where we are right now,” he said.
“The most important is that the group knows and we all know how difficult it is, and how much we need to sacrifice ourselves every week. That’s something we want to protect for now
“We don’t want to take another way. We know why the results are coming and we don’t want to lose the tempo. It’s our responsibility now to take care of ourselves, still work hard and be humble.”
🔥JOHHHH! 🔥
— MTN8 Wafa Wafa! (@MTN8) September 26, 2024
The latest #WafaWafa wings challenge between Morgan Gould and Nathan Paulse
Too hot to handle? 👀
Click to watch the full video: https://t.co/4U4AtqH2xX#MTN8 pic.twitter.com/vRoVxa0f7r
“So, we need to take every game as a final, as a serious one, as an important one. That’s the mentality that we have right now.
“Today (Sunday) it was proven and we have a final in six days but you didn’t see today anybody with their minds somewhere else other than this game against Richards Bay and these three points.
“That’s probably why right now we are happier with the results than maybe one or three years ago.”
On Saturday, Pirates will arguably face their toughest test yet this season as a flying Stellenbsoch look to dethrone them of their Wafa Wafa crown.
The spectacle will see Durban come to standstill for at least 90 minutes as all eyes will be on the Moses Mabhida Stadium at 6pm.