Former Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has officially started his new job as Al Ahly coach following his unveiling on Thursday evening.
Riveiro’s highly-awaited confirmation was made by the Egyptian giants and on Friday, he met his new team as the record African champions prepare for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup set to kick off on June 14 in the United States.
Riveiro might have been managing one of the biggest teams in South Africa and Africa in Orlando Pirates but with Al Ahly, he is walking from a yacht into a cruise ship.
This is because there is simply no bigger team in Africa than Al Ahly and as he described it himself, this is like managing one of the major teams in Europe.
So, as the Spanish mentor begins a new chapter in Egypt after three successful years in South Africa, what should he expect at Al Ahly?
Win every match
Jose Riveiro might already know this but at Al Ahly, every match is a must win. No excuses will be tolerated from a club and fanbase used to winning everything they play for, making Riveiro’s job more difficult this time around.
While he will need to prioritise the big trophies, the smaller ones also matter, and in the unfortunate event that he suffers defeat, then it should not be humiliating as that will quickly turn the fans against him.
Al Ahly listen to their fans and when they turn against a coach, his time is always over, hence the need for Riveiro, who had a good relationship with Pirates supporters, to get them on his side early in his tenure through wins.
Champions League glory is a must
Riveiro will not need to look far for examples of coaches who have left Al Ahly after failing to deliver Champions League glory.
Pitso Mosimane won it in 2020 and 2021 but when he reached the 2022 final and lost, he was gone a few days later, while the man he is succeeding Marcel Koller has won the last two but when he lost this season’s semi-final with the final kick of the game, past glories did not matter, as he was sacked two days later.
Such high standards are the reasons Al Ahly have won a record 12 Champions Leagues and Riveiro will be judged by how many continental titles he delivers and not any other trophy.
Winning the league is a formality
While winning the Champions League is the Holy Grail, delivering a league title is seen as a foregone conclusion at the Club of the Century.
The Cairo Red Devils believe they are the best in Africa and in Egypt and demand to win the league even when not playing well or if the squad is not good enough.
This season is a prime example as they played second fiddle to Pyramids for most of the campaign but when it mattered most, they rose to the occasion and sealed a record-extending 45th title on Wednesday.
Entertaining football
Al Ahly fans demand to win every match but they also want their team to do it in style and Riveiro must implement an exciting style of play that will entertain supporters.
Al Ahly can fill up the entire 75,000-seater Cairo International Stadium but they come to be entertained and not to be bored. Riveiro’s team will therefore have to leave them excited whenever they play.
Huge scrutiny & harsh criticism
Jose Riveiro faced scrutiny during his early days at Pirates with derogatory terms like ‘plumber’ used to describe him but he joins Al Ahly as a respected coach.
However, in Cairo, his every move, word, starting XI, substitute among other things will be highly scrutinised with harsh words in the media and from fans used towards him, something he will need to prepare for and perhaps get used to.
Al Ahly legends will also be on his neck and comparisons with past coaches in terms of style and achievements will be made perhaps twice or thrice more than he faced at Orlando Stadium.
The Spanish mentor will need to develop a thick skin to deal with all these as they come with the title of being Al Ahly coach.
