Orlando Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi has spoken highly of the club’s outgoing head coach Jose Riveiro.
The two has worked closely together since the Spanish coach’s arrival in 2022. Riveiro is set to leave at the end of the season when his contract expires.
Riveiro's time at the helm has been marked by significant trophy success, having secured five major titles: three consecutive MTN8 cups and two Nedbank Cups.
He still has an opportunity to add another piece of silverware before his departure, as Pirates are set to face Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday, May 10th, at Moses Mabhida Stadium. While the league title is gradually slipping away, they can mathematically win it.
Ncikazi has lauded Riveiro's efforts and demeanour, describing him as the ideal individual to unify the various facets of the club.
NCIKAZI ON RIVEIRO – ‘HE IS A VERY UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL’
“Coach Riveiro is a very unique individual, more than a coach, he goes further than that, highly professional,” said Ncikazi.
“He takes the job very seriously. He’s neither too happy, nor too disappointed. Where there is too much expectations it’s easy to be disappointed.
“It’s easier for the players, whether we lose or win, his approach is the same and I always think it helps the young players to perform without fear. Whether the result is good or bad, he is still the same.
“So one, he’s professional, he prepares well. He analyses games, he doesn’t rely on analysts, the new trend in our team. He goes [and looks] himself. He creates the game plan.
The day in our preparation is long, it’s the profile of our opponents, it’s the planning, it’s the execution, it’s the training sessions, it’s the individual sessions and it’s post-match, so it’s quite a long spectrum of him as a person, allowing that to happen.
“Our club is a big institution, where there is a lot of institutions and department that must meet together – sport science, analysis – so that then the team performs and he’s at the end. So it’s just a process that is lead by him and it’s given the club what it’s achieved lately.”
