Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro acknowledges the formidable challenge posed by Stellenbosch FC in the MTN8 final but insists his team is well-prepared.

The Buccaneers will clash with Stellies at the sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (18:00) aiming for a third consecutive MTN8 title.

Pirates face a stern test against a Stellies side that has proven their mettle by defeating both Mamelodi Sundowns in the semifinals and Pirates three times last season.

“It’s a final, a different game, not an ordinary one,” Riveiro said. “There’s a lot of emotion and questions for both teams. This is our third MTN8 final, and each opponent has presented a unique challenge.”

The Pirates coach is aware of Stellies’ capabilities: “So, we know the level of the opponent that we are going to face. We are going to prepare ourselves as usual to not be surprised. 

“We know the difficulty of the task. Stellenbosch is not in the final by chance, it’s been a long journey for them collecting good results and showing how competitive they can be. 

“They had an opportunity to play one final last season (where they succeeded by winning the Carling Knockout trophy at the Moses Mabhida Stadium), a tough one for us. 

“How different is going to be, for sure it is going to be different.”

Riveiro recognizes the differences between these finals and previous ones: The last time we played in the MTN8 final was unique moment due to the circumstances that we had to face there (winning on penalties. 

“We need to be prepared for every possible scenario to be resilient during the 90 minutes or 120 and understand in these types of games, nothing is decided until the last whistle and that is mentality we are carrying in these types of matches and this one is not going to be different.”