Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has insisted that the team Jwaneng Galaxy defeated in last year’s CAF Champions League second preliminary round is not the same.

Pirates were eliminated from the Champions League second round by Galaxy, who won the first leg 1-0 and drew the second leg at Orlando Stadium. Worryingly, Pirates failed to score in either match, with Botswana’s champions scoring an own goal and winning on penalties.

Following a similar script to last year, Pirates are in Botswana for the first leg of the second preliminary round, which will take place at the National Stadium in Gaborone (16:00). The second leg will be held next weekend at Orlando Stadium on 18 September.

However, Riveiro has emphasized that despite last year’s loss, his team has evolved and is no longer the same side Jwaneng faced.

“We are here one year with one more year of experience, one more year of the situation we were living together as a group, as a team,” said Riveiro at the press conference in Botswana on Friday. 

“We trust that there is an evolution in our team in every competition. One year ago, we were not at the level that was expected from us in the Champions League, and we didn’t manage to qualify for the group stage. One year later we feel that we are more prepared in general to be more competitive. We are Orlando Pirates, the expectations are always high, we have to win every game in which we are involved. 

“We are one year later here with a different team and on Saturday we have an opportunity again to perform and to play good football,”  Riveiro added.

Although Galaxy reached the group stage last season, they had a challenging experience, losing five of six matches. However, they achieved one victory, defeating Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca.

Additionally, they scored only one goal and conceded 11 in the group stage, but Riveiro views Galaxy as a dangerous opponents.

“There are no champions by chance (in Botswana),” said Riveiro. 

“They played a good role in group stages last season, they beat an important team, I think they have a very good representation in Botswana for Botswana football in the continent.  

“It tells you quite a lot about how competitive this side can be in this competition. 

“With good individuals, with players who are difficult to deal with, we know them as well as they know us. 

“On Saturday, 90 minutes here in Botswana and 90 minutes in Orlando, in those two short spaces of time, we are going to try to be better than them. 

“We are going to try to play our best version. We are also a difficult team to deal with and that’s where we are focused right now.  

“We respect the opponent, not only what happened last year, but it was one year ago. But we are here again because they are the champions, we are here again because we managed to qualify and that tells you things about both teams, that we deserve to be here to play the game on Saturday. 

“Again, it is going to be an interesting one for sure.”