Fresh from a 1-0 loss at the hands of Soweto rivals in the form of Kaizer Chiefs last weekend, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says they are now focusing on the MTN8 final.
Pirates will face AmaZulu in the final on Saturday evening at Moses Mabhida Stadium and Riveiro believes there is no team that can be touted as favourites.
While the fans and the South African public see Pirates as the favourites heading the Wafa Wafa final, the 47-year-old Riveiro thinks the clash will be decided in the 90 minutes.
“I can’t imagine one team going into the final saying ‘It’s Okay to be here, the result doesn’t matter,” said Riveiro.
“No, everyone has the same thing to lose – the title. It’s 90 minutes, 11 against 11. So don’t tell me about favourites and a hungrier team.
“That’s not true. If someone feels something like that, it’s probably because they don’t know what a football player thinks about in a game like this.”
As they dispatched reigning MTN champions, Mamelodi Sundowns, out of the tournament, Riveiro respects AmaZulu who are a confident team heading into the match after beating Stellenbosch on Sunday.
“As usual, together with the players, we had to analyse the reasons that didn’t allow us to get a good result in our last match,” Riveiro added.
“Usually, winning or losing, we are critical of ourselves so that we can keep improving. But when you don’t get a good result, you go deeper into reviews.
“As players and coaching staff, we usually want to change the situation as soon as possible because we know we have different experiences on these.”
A Pirates win on Saturday afternoon will augur well for Riveiro’s start to his new life at the Buccaneers, given that his appointment was met with a lot of criticism.
“The profile of the opposition is different. You look at our first starting XI and the last one. But the players are the most important components in the end,” he continued.
Main Image: Jose Riveiro/SowetanLIVE
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