‘I wish you’d hold me in your arms
Like that Spanish guitar
(All night long) all night long
(All night long) all night long
(I’d be your song) I’d be your song’
It’s safe to say Toni Braxton wasn’t thinking about Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro when she released this song back in the year 2000.
ALSO READ: Riveiro opens up about Pirates exit
Orlando Pirates fans, however, might be feeling a bit Braxton following the news that Riveiro will be leaving the club at the end of this season.
Riveiro’s Pirates bring in the loot
After all Riveiro, who the Ghost fondly nicknamed ‘Spanish Guitar,’ has turned Pirates into something of a trophy machine. Three MTN8 titles and two Nedbank Cups are already in the cabinet, with more quite possibly to follow before Riveiro departs at the end of this season.
It’s always good to go out on a high in any job, but especially in a job as precarious as coaching a football team, that doesn’t always happen. For Riveiro, however, it could truly end with a bang, or even a sensational fairytale, if Pirates somehow win the Betway Premiership, the Nedbank Cup and the Caf Champions League.
No pressure, then, Jose. Even if Riveiro wins none of the above, mind you, there is little doubt he has left Pirates in far better shape than he found them.
The Buccaneers had won one trophy in eight years when Riveiro arrived at the club ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Under Riveiro, Pirates have already won five trophies in under three seasons. But there is more than that. Riveiro has built a Pirates squad that is as strong as any since Ruud Krol’s Pirates won their second ‘double-treble’ in 2012.
Closer to Sundowns than ever
Pirates have never been closer to challenging the dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premiership.
Perhaps the two main criticisms of his tenure until this season were that Riveiro’s Pirates hadn’t put up a decent title challenge, and hadn’t had an acceptable run in the Champions League.
Now they are still in the title race and they are on the brink of reaching the Champions League semifinals.Young talents like Relebohile Mofokeng, Mohau Nkota and Mbekezeli Mbokazi have flourished in this Pirates team, with Riveiro showing no fear in throwing a young player in to the fray, if he is good enough.
For Pirates, Riveiro’s departure is a huge blow, but he has at least announced it early enough for them to make a contingency plan.
There were plenty of hints in Riveiro’s recent press conferences that he was going to leave. So it is quite possible Pirates’ planning has been going on for some time anyway.
ALSO READ: Pirates confirm Riveiro exit
The Spaniard has left his wife and young daughter back home and it is totally understandable if he wants to spend more time with his family. He deserves the best of send-offs and who knows, maybe one day he will return to a place where he has had so much success.
