Pirates’ Maela says now is not the time to talk about Riveiro departure

Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela says the players are staying focused as they prepare to take on MC Alger in their Caf Champions League quarterfinal, second leg at Orlando Stadium this evening. 

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The Buccaneers hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg but have been rocked by the news that head coach Jose Riveiro will leave the club at the end of the campaign. Still, they can certainly give their Spanish head coach a fine send off, with the team still in the Champions League, the Betway Premiership title race, and the Nedbank Cup. 

Pirates’ Maela – ‘There will be a time’

“We have had our meetings and discussions and agreed that there will be a time to put our attention (on Riveiro’s departure),” Maela told a press conference at Orlando Stadium yesterday. 

“Now we are focusing on the competitions we still need to compete in. The time will come later for all of those moments. Now we are putting all our attention on applying ourselves perfectly without game plans, starting tomorrow.” 

On a similar note, there has also been no conversation among the Pirates players about winning the Champions League in Riveiro’s honour. 

“Imagine having that conversation, discussing playing a final, going all the way and winning it, and forgetting about tomorrow!,” added Maela. 

“Even at training we just go and train as best we can. We have been with the coach for some time now. The moment will come for us to express how we feel, and the journey we have been through, but the focus has to be on tomorrow’s match and paying attention to detail.”

Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro, meanwhile, echoed Maela’s sentiments. 

Laser focus

“Those things are not important right now. We will have time to talk about it. We spoke about it a week ago, not to be talking about this right now,” said Riveiro. 

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“We are focusing on the most important thing for the club, to give our best on the field and make sure we deserve to be in the semis. They (MC Alger) are a really good opponent … and we will try to minimise their capacity to play. This is the only thing on our mind.”