‘Players are humans’, Riveiro defends Mbatha from boo boys

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has leaped into Thalente Mbatha’s defence after he was abused by the boo boys this past weekend.

Mbatha, who scored the Buccaneers’ second goal during the 2-1 victory over CR Belouizdad of Algeria in a CAF Champions League group clash at the Orlando Stadium last Sunday, was booed by some section of the Pirates fans during the game whenever he had lost the ball.

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After his stunning cracker that gave Pirates a two-nil lead, Riveiro was seen facing towards the stands mumbling some words towards the club fans.

During the post-match conference, Riveiro explained his reaction and also called on the fans to understand that players are human beings who have emotions.

“I think there was a moment when Thalente lost a couple of balls and the atmosphere changed a little bit. We can’t afford to do that. It’s an emotional reaction because the players are humans,” said Riveiro.

“They have feelings. It’s important that they feel that they are playing home every single minute, not only when they are scoring or when we’re playing nice.

“Sometimes, we have to understand that it’s not that easy, we have an opponent in front that also wants to win.”

Riveiro admitted that the emotion got the better of him when Mbatha scored the second goal.

“This is a tough competition so we need to capitalize something not every club has which is our fanbase. So, again, it’s a moment of the game, maybe I shouldn’t, but it’s an emotional moment but I think we’re fine.

“I think the fans today play a big role, coming in numbers and we try to play for them most of the time,” commented Riveiro.

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Pirates will next face Al-Ahly in their group match in Cairo on Saturday and if they avoid defeat in that encounter, they will finish the group phase as group winners.

They currently lead Group C with 11 points after five games and they are followed by Al-Ahly on 10 points. CR Belouizdad, who failed to advance to the knockout stage after the loss to Pirates, are third with eight points and Stade d’Abidjan are bottom of the group with one point.