Durban — Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says his calm approach to football comes naturally to him.
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The Spaniard could be seen cutting a composed figure as his team opened their Premiership campaign with a 1-0 win over Soweto rivals Swallows FC at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
“It’s how I am as a person. I am not a different person when I am coaching or in my personal life. It can be difficult to communicate with players in an atmosphere such as this. It won’t help the players to see a coach getting nervous during the game. The communication is fluid and we try to support the players, while also giving them solutions. There is no point in shouting. I have my emotions and can be expressive, but I will be concentrated as it will help me to be more useful to my players,” said Riveiro.
Bienvenu Eva Nga scored on his league debut for Pirates and the goal from the Cameroonian ended up deciding the game. Riveiro’s appointment was largely met with surprise from the South African football fraternity. The Spaniard was an unknown figure in SA prior to his arrival at Pirates and had also spent the bulk of his coaching career in Finland, a nation which is hardly associated with football excellence. He has however promised that he will try to deliver an entertaining brand of football with the Sea Robbers.
“We try to entertain people. Football makes me very happy when I watch my team play. I want the same for the people watching the game. I try to do my best in order to make it happen. Today we have many fans happy at home who will have a good night because of the performance of the guys. It was a nice atmosphere and amazing to be part of this. The people cheered from the first minute. Compared to Europe, the atmosphere is like a party, but it is good that the people are having fun. It will be relevant to helping us play good football,” said Riveiro.
Riveiro may still be new to South African football, but he has been impressed by the technical qualities of SA football so far. He anticipates a tough season ahead for his side, who are aiming to regain consistency and rebuild themselves as a giant.
Riveiro’s predecessor Josef Zinnbauer infamously hit out at the level of the local game and Pirates players following his departure from the club. Zinnbauer has since resurfaced at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow.
“I am impressed with the technical level of South African players. There is a lot of difficulty in this league because of the technical level. I have not yet seen a player who was weak. I watched the first game of the season for about 30 minutes and was impressed with what I saw,” said Riveiro.
Pirates are next in action on Wednesday in a potentially tricky away fixture against Stellenbosch FC at the Danie Craven Stadium.
IOL Sport