Riveiro Warns Against Complacency Ahead Of Baroka Tie
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has cautioned his charges against taking second-tier outfit Baroka FC lightly as they are set to battle for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup at Orlando Stadium on Saturday (15:00).
The Sea Robbers head into the encounter as defending champions determined to defend their trophy, having won back-to-back titles. Riveiro is still in contention to lift a third silverware in a row – a feat he achieved in the MTN8.
However, the Bucs’ mentor dismissed the notion that his side is under pressure to live up to the standards that earned them the nickname ‘cup kings’ since his arrival, stating that they are writing another chapter in this current campaign.
“There’s pressure for us every day, in every game, every training session, there’s always pressure but it’s a good pressure. It’s normal we go onto the field people expect us to win, sometimes beyond that capacity to win games,” said Riveiro.
“So, there’s no extra pressure because we won the Nedbank Cup last season, now we are writing another chapter of our time together here and again we want to be victorious, continue having the possibility to go to the finals in every competition and so far, we are doing quite well.”
While the Soweto giants are firm favorites to progress to the next round of the competition, Riveiro insists they will respect the Motsepe Foundation Championship team, urging his players to do away with any spirit of complacency that might creep in.
“We will respect them 100% and the way the players are not going to be relaxed is because we are showing them how good they are. They [my players] know we are playing a quality team, and I said it before,” the Spanish mentor added.
“It’s a team that if you’re not focused enough, they are capable of giving you a headache because they have a lot of talent, especially up front and I’m sure those boys [Baroka players] are more than motivated and capable to show it in Orlando on Saturday.
“So, we need to be ourselves one more time, probably if we are close to our best version, it’s not going to be easy for Baroka but if we are not – anything can happen because it’s a football game that’s going to be played in 90 minutes, maybe extra time so let’s see. But we have to be ready for a tough game because it’s a knockout game, so it’s never easy.”
The two sides have a brief history in domestic cup competitions as Baroka claimed the 2018/19 Telkom Knockout crown at the expense of a Pirates team led by experienced Serbian tactician Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic.
