Riveiro sets sights on bigger achievements for Pirates next season

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has already set his sight on bigger achievements next season after scooping two cup titles in his first season in the PSL. 

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Riveiro guided Pirates to the Nedbank Cup victory at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, beating Sekhukhune United 2-1 in the final. 

The Spaniard has already led the Buccaneers to the MTN8 title earlier in the season and also finished second in the DStv Premiership.

Riveiro has however said the main prize for any club side is the DStv Premiership and he wants to add its medal to his collection. 

“I think it was epic until the end, and that’s why it tastes so good. We probably didn’t play very good football in this competition, but we were very competitive,” Riveiro told the media afterwards.

“I think we managed to win every knockout game during the season in every competition and official match. 

“I think that’s going to be a huge value for the players for the future. Next season we are going to try again. 

“Everyone will start with zero points and at nil-nil in every competition. We’ll try to do things differently in every competition,” Riveiro added.

‘Pirates have to improve’

Riveiro said his team had learnt good lessons this season and will build upon the performances to become even better. 

“If we do the same things, we are not going to get the same results as this season. We need to move forward because every team is going to move forward as well.

“They are going to try and get better, and we can’t be an exception. We can’t be thinking that now we are double champions, everything next season is going to be a bed of roses.”

Pirates’ win over Sekhukhune however came with some controversy. A penalty awarded to them towards the end of the first half raised a lot of debates. 

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It came when Victor Letsoalo played the ball with his hands while he had fallen down and was believed to be injured. 

Pirates scored their equaliser through the resultant spot kick. Terrence Dzvukamanja scored late in the game to secure the win for Pirates. Sibusiso Vilakazi had given Babina Noko the lead early in the game.