DONE DEAL: Jose Riveiro has finally won the contract and signing a dream player worth R65.7million today
Orlando Pirates tactician Jose Riveiro has suggested their Spanish pre-season tour was a success, feeling they represented the Buccaneers’ brand well.
“Overall, yes, I am happy with the tour. It was a tough preseason tour with a lot of competition… we tried to take every game as a three points game, knowing the importance for us to represent our football, to represent the brand and I think the guys in that sense did fantastic in my opinion,” Riveiro said.
“They [his players] showed football we want to play in every game and they compromised with the things we want to do as a team. There was discipline in the group every day, training, resting, and preparing for the next one without complaining. These players were on task every day, so I think we are going back to Joburg in a better space.”
Pirated arrived back in the country yesterday after spending nearly two weeks in Spain, where they played four friendlies. The Sea Robbers drew 2-all against English second-tier side Plymouth Argyle, who are coached by Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, in the first game of their preseason tour in Spain 10 days ago.
Pirates went on to stun Spanish La Liga side Sevilla 2-0 in their second outing of their European preseason trip last Monday, before playing a 1-all draw against Granada, who were relegated from La Liga last season, two days later. Pirates would lose 3-2 to Qatari champions Al Sadd in their last game in Spain on Friday.
Riveiro gave a sense the tour also prepared them to be able to handle the impending congested programme as they played four games in four days in Spain. Pirates will be involved in five competitions in the form of the league, the MTN8, the CAF Champions League, the Carling Knockout and the Nedbank Cup in the new term.
“Getting players ready in a short space of time is one of the objectives of the preseason. We need to push the training weeks to the level that when we compete, we feel that it’s a day off and that’s what we are looking for with this amount of games played in a row and we know the schedule in August will be very tough for us, especially with the Champions League in the picture as well. Probably now we are more prepared than before,” Riveiro stated.
