Riveiro: Hopefully We Meet Sundowns Again This Season
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says they are hoping to lock horns with Mamelodi Sundowns again this season as there’s a possibility of the two heavyweights meeting in two other competitions and explained the reason why.
The South African giants have already met twice this season, with both encounters coming in the Betway Premiership. Sundowns won the first meeting with a resounding 4-1 victory while Pirates claimed a 2-1 win.
The fixture has somewhat become a heated rivalry with the teams competing for league honors this campaign, in addition to Riveiro’s charges clinching a domestic cup double at the expense of the Brazilians last season.
Having played four games more, Masandawana has a 15-point gap at the top of the standings with 58 points after 23 matches. On the other hand, the Sea Robbers have accumulated 43 points in 19 league outings.
Now, after successfully guiding Pirates to their first league win over Sundowns since January 2020, Riveiro reserved special praise for the rampant Chloorkop-based outfit, acknowledging how high they’ve set the bar with their points-overhauling prowess.
“Every time you [play] especially against good teams like Sundowns – Sundowns is not a joke, they put the bar very high season after season and this season is not an exception. The amount of points that they have at this moment of the season is something probably unique,” he said.
The Spanish mentor went on to shed light on his desire to meet Miguel Cardoso’s side again this term, with a Nedbank Cup and a CAF Champions League meeting possible in the final. The Bucs tactician says playing against Downs is a learning curve and a chance for his team to improve further.
“Every time we have an opportunity to play against teams like Sundowns in our league, it’s an opportunity to get better because it’s a challenge, difficult to control them in some areas like in every game, they don’t take so much time to find a solution,” Riveiro added.
“So, we learned in the first game, same as we managed to learn a couple of things, so I’m sure they did [learn] as well. Hopefully it’s not the last time we meet this season; we still have the opportunity to meet again in two competitions. And if that happens, it’s going to be good news for South African football.”
Pirates will travel to Algiers where they will take on Algerian champions MC Alger in the CAF Champions League quarterfinals after the international break, before returning to league action with a trip to Polokwane City five days later.
