Riveiro set to give Pirates wonderkid Mokone a chance?

An informant at Orlando Pirates has revealed that coach Jose Riveiro told young defender Jabulani Mokone to keep on working hard and he will get an opportunity to play in the first team.

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Mokone is one of the aspiring future stars at Pirates, with the defender putting in some great shifts week-in and week-out in the Buccaneers’ DStv Diski Challenge team.

The 18-year-old Mokone showed that he is ready for first-team football during the Carling Black Label Knockout friendly match for the All-Stars team against Carling Black Label Knockout Champions Stellenbosch FC.

In that match, Mokone was coached by Riveiro as well as Joseph Makhanya, and managed to put up a great performance, impressing many Pirates fans in January.

“A lot of people have been asking why Mokone is not playing in the first team. But why they don’t understand is that there is a process that a player has to go through before playing in the senior team. Another thing is that you have to look at his position, the players who are playing there are doing a great job, so, there is no need to change,” said the source.

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“It is just a matter of time for Mokone, he will get his chance to play. The coach (Riveiro) told him to keep on working because he has a great potential. He is part of the first team, it’s just that he has to wait for his chance. If you remember well, the same thing happened with Rele (Relebohile Mofokeng), who is a regular now.”

Mokone is currently in camp with the SA Under-20 squad that is preparing for their AFCON qualifiers in September.