Four of the seven new players that have joined the Orlando Pirates ship. Image: @OrlandoPirates / Twitter

New coach confirms: Pirates unlikely to make any more new signings

New Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has acknowledged the club is not looking at any more player recruits right now.

by Craig Lewis

02-08-2022 15:49

in Premier Soccer League

Four of the seven new players that have joined the Orlando Pirates ship. Image: @OrlandoPirates / Twitter

Orlando Pirates have been one of the busiest clubs in terms of player movements during this ‘off-season’, welcoming in the likes of Bienvenu Eva Nga, Evidence Makgopa, Miguel Timm, Azola Matrose, Tapelo Xoki and Nkosinathi Sibisi.

Pirates also dropped something of a bombshell during the pre-season with the appointment of little-known Spaniard Jose Riveiro as the club’s new head coach.

The 46-year-old has signed a three-year contract in what will be his first ever job in Africa. In fact, it’s only his second head coaching role of his career, the first of which was at little-known Finland club FC Inter Turku.

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He has now suggested the club is ready for the new season, and any further signings seem to have been deemed unnecessary.

“We are concentrating on the players that we already have and we are not thinking so much about any other possibilities, we have enough [players],” Riveiro told journalists, as quoted by Soccer Laduma.

“I am not controlling the market. We have very strong technical staff, together with the coaching staff we try to get the best we can, obviously we have a big squad, but it is something that we are gonna need during the season, so it doesn’t mean that nobody else will come. You never know but the main part of my job is to focus on what we have,” he added.

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Pirates will start off their league campaign against Swallows on 6 August at Orlando Stadium, and there is talk that the team has quietly been building real confidence in the pre-season, with the players said to be enjoying the vision and planning of Riveiro.

“The good thing is that we have the same objective now as a team, the coach wants results, and he’s someone who likes attacking football. He likes his team to play on the front foot and defend as a unit,” Goodman Mosele told the media at the launch of the Buccaneers’ new jersey, as quoted by Soccer Laduma.
“With the quality, we have at the team, I’m confident that in the next season, we will see a different Orlando Pirates.”

The Week 1 fixtures for the 2022/23 DStv Premiership season have recently been released – and Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have tough opponents to kick-start their PSL campaigns!

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Amakhosi and the Buccaneers are not the only ones with difficult starts as the same can be said for defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

All the fixtures, with dates, times and venues can now be found here