Riveiro: Acknowledging the Humanity of Pirates and Their Struggles

On Thursday, Orlando Pirates head coach, Jose Riveiro, spoke to journalists about the importance of squad management as the team faces a busy schedule. Having advanced to the quarter-finals of the Carling Knockout after defeating Cape Town Spurs on Friday, Pirates are back in action tomorrow against AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in the league. This will be followed by another match on Friday against Polokwane City in Orlando.

Riveiro noted the challenge of managing the players as games have been coming thick and fast for the team. “We play Tuesday then we travel back on Wednesday, and we play Friday (against) Polokwane City then we have again the same routine. We need to keep an eye on the players because they are humans, and they feel the pain and they feel the fatigue and we have to monitor them as good as possible. There is also the issue of the yellow cards that we also need to manage as good as possible,” he said.

Pirates have been playing catch up after some of their matches were rescheduled when the team was involved in the CAF Champions League earlier in the season. With the team’s busy schedule, Riveiro is focused on managing the players to ensure their wellbeing and performance.