Ex-Bafana Player Backs Jose Riveiro

Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana defender Matthew Booth says Orlando Pirates newly appointed coach Jose Riveiro must be given a chance to prove himself. The Spanish coach was announced as Bucs manager a few weeks ago and has already faced criticism as many are doubting him since it will be his second-time head coaching a professional team.

“We will see what his strong points are and what his weaknesses are when we see him working. We will see with the type of substitutes that he makes early on in the season and we have to wait and see what type of manager he is. Does he get on with the players or not? At the moment, we know very little about him,” said Booth as per The Citizen.

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Booth believes Ezimnyama Ngenkani came close to matching Mamelodi Sundowns in the recent past seasons. Pirates had a great depth in the squad but couldn’t come up with a balanced team to dominate as Masandawana have been doing.

“Over the past three seasons I thought Pirates were going to challenge Sundowns. They have been a bit disappointing towards the end of last season and unfortunately it seems they have pushed the reset button again from a coaching and playing point of view,” added Booth.

“I hope that they are able to hit the ground running because we need a strong Kaizer Chiefs and Pirates for this league to be vibrant again.”

BUCS LEGEND NOT CONVINCED BY RIVEIRO

On the other hand, Pirates legend James Mothibi seems not convinced that Riveiro is the right man to turn the club’s fortunes around. Mothibi who was Ezimnyama Ngenkani striker in the olden days says Adel Amrouche would be a good choice for the team. The legend says Riveiro is inexpert to coach a big club like the Soweto giants.

“The coach does not have experience, that alone raises a lot of questions, especially for a big club like Pirates. At Pirates, there is a lot of pressure, so that already puts him in the spotlight. You are not just there to be a coach, but you are there to represent people, people who died for the club, people who are paying to get into the stadium with their hard earned money,” said Mothibi.

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“Pirates is a brand, it is a big club and there is so much that is expected from you. There is a lot of history behind the club, you are fighting for someone like Irvin Khoza, who has worked so hard to find sponsors for the team. Pirates are not an easy team. I respect the coach, but he must know that the pressure is huge [at Pirates].”

“Does he know Pirates? Does he know that Pirates play in Africa? Yes, we might have not qualified to play in the Caf games (Caf club competitions) for next season , but that doesn’t really mean Pirates is not a big team.”