The future is bright for Orlando Pirates and their youthful squad. That is the belief of the team’s outgoing head coach, José Riveiro.
Pirates were close to winning a quadruple this season, which included the Betway Premiership, CAF Champions League, Nedbank Cup and MTN8. But it was not to be. They failed to reach the final hurdle of the Champions League, losing 3-2 on aggregate to Pyramids in the semi-final on Friday.
Pirates’ fate was decided in the second leg at 30 June Stadium in Cairo, as all the goals were scored there following a stalemate in the first leg at Orlando.
☠️ ⏪️ 𝗬𝗔𝗗𝗛𝗖𝗧𝗔𝗠 ⏪️
🏆 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL 2nd Leg SF
🆚 @pyramidsfc
🏟 30 June Stadium
🗓️ 25 April 2025⚫️⚪️🔴⭐️#OrlandoPirates#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/DMR1mskoVD
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) April 26, 2025
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Riveiro and his troops after a near flawless campaign. Winning the Champions League would have helped the team to hit two birds with one stone: win the crown for the first time since 1995 and bid a perfect farewell to Riveiro.
The Spaniard will step down from his position at the end of the season after deciding against renewing his three-year contract with the club. Riveiro will leave the club’s jersey better than he found it, having won five domestic trophies out of seven. But perhaps his greatest success was unearthing the talent of youngsters such as Relebohile Mofokeng, Mohau Nkota and Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
The trio were not only colossal in Pirates’ charge in Africa — with Nkota and Mofokeng also scoring on Friday — but throughout the campaign. That is why the 49-year-old coach believes the youngsters are a capital investment for the club, one which will pay dividends in the near future.
“They are already important players at 19-20 years old, but they still have a lot of things to improve on,” Riveiro said, during his post-match press conference.
“It’s a very good new thing for the club as well because the future is looking bright for Orlando Pirates as they have a young and ambitious squad. Now, with one more experience in the Champions League, they have a lot of things to celebrate — but not (Friday) obviously.
“We are sad, we are not happy (after the defeat), but the future is definitely looking bright for the club.”
⏪ 🅸🅲🆈🅼🅸 ⏪
Orlando Pirates suffered a 3⃣➖2⃣ defeat in the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL semifinal 2nd leg encounter against Pyramids in Cairo.#SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/bp6xyz6SPC
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) April 26, 2025
Pirates can only think about their future at the end of the season — they must first bounce back from their loss in Cairo and focus on the two upcoming matches. The Buccaneers will face arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs in back-to-back Soweto derbies — first in the Betway Premiership on Saturday, then the Nedbank Cup final next Saturday.
Pirates must win both matches to ensure they at least secure a treble after the African crown eluded them. They are second on the log and have already won the MTN8. Riveiro, who is proud of their run on the continent, will hope his troops can finish the season the same way they started their African safari.
“I am very proud of the whole team, not only in this competition but in the long journey we have covered together this season,” Riveiro said.
“Their qualification in the Champions League (for the group stage) was excellent for all of them. I said it before we started the group stage — we are coming into the Champions League to grow as a group, as football players, and as individuals.
“We all didn’t have experience in this competition, and we played regularly with young players. So I think it was a fantastic new normal thing, first and foremost.”
