The Ghost will be crossing fingers and hoping that it’s a case of third time lucky under coach Jose Riveiro in terms of the league championship.
Riveiro is in his third season at Orlando Pirates, and he’s had two incredible seasons already, winning four trophies – two MTN8s and two Nedbank Cups.
His run endeared him to the club’s faithful and external observer as a cup specialist, given that he missed out on the coveted championship.
He finished as runner-up to Mamelodi in back-to-back campaigns.
Enter the new season and there seems to be an opening for the Sea Robbers to sail back to the pinnacle of local football given the changes at champions Sundowns.
The Brazilians have made ample changes to their technical team, with coach Manqoba Mngqithi ascending to the throne after the departure of Rulani Mokwena in the winter. Mokwena’s departure seems to have divided the dressing room, especially given that Mngqithi wants to play a different brand of football than the former head coach– fast football.
Unlike at Sundowns, the Buccaneers have kept the core of the coaching staff and players, with Riveiro set to go for another term with a vastly familiar squad.
He’s done well to show continuity in the opening stages of the season, guiding the side to the MTN8 final – a record third in a row – and second round of the CAF Champions League preliminaries.
They’ll face Stellenbosch in the MTN8 final on October 5 at Moses Mabhida (6pm), while they already have one foot in the Champions League’s group stage after beating Jwaneng Galaxy 2-0 away in the first leg.
Amid all the positive vibes around the club, they’ll start their ‘most important’ campaign – the Betway Premiership – tonight when they host Chippa United in Orlando (kick-off 7.30pm).
Granted this will be the first of 30 league games this season, but Riveiro knows the importance of his team showing up week in and week out to improve on their back-to-back bridesmaid finishes.
“We learned a lot of lessons every day. It’s our third season together, we know how difficult it is to finish in the team,” Riveiro said during the launch of the Betway Premiership a few days ago.
“It’s everyone’s responsibility in the league, in my opinion, to make it more competitive, with more teams fighting for the top (spot).
“For us, we want to finish better than the last time – in terms of how we want to play and the points we want to collect, and make sure we are fighting for the top in the last stages of the season.”
Pirates haven’t won the league since 2012. And with Riveiro in trhe last year of his three-year contract, he needs to end that barren streak or else he’ll run the risk of being shipped out.
Pirates’ Achilles heel in the past two seasons has been inconsistency – dropping points that they were expected to collect with ease, especially at home.
However, since making their home a fortress in the latter part of last season and early this season, they’ve been menacing, with every team that’s visited Orlando returning home wounded.
And that’ll likely be the case for the Chilli Boys. Riveiro expects their 12th man – the Ghost – to be their fuel that will drive them to their best season in his tenure.
“It goes without saying, it’s been an absolute privilege for us to have the fan base that we have. To see them coming in large numbers at the stadium makes a big difference,” Riveiro said.
“They come in, but they are also supporting. They enjoy and make a good difference for us and the opponents. If we manage to keep them close, it will be positive, for sure.”
Pirates and Chippa are worlds apart on paper. While the latter delved heavily into the market, including signing Pirates duo Siphelo Baloni and Azola Matrose, the former took it easy.
Pirates have only made seven signings so far, notably Gilberto, Deano van Rooyen, Selaelo Rasebotja and Thalente Mbatha, who put pen to paper on a permanent deal.
“We have 42 (players), so what do you think? We don’t have problems in terms of numbers and quality,” said Riveiro before the termination of Lesedi Kapinga’s contract yesterday.