Who Is Jose Riveiro? – iDiski Times

In the latest edition of iDiski Times, Lorenz Köhler investigated who Jose Riveiro is, after the Spaniard was appointed the new Head Coach of Orlando Pirates.

On Saturday, Orlando Pirates did what Orlando Pirates do, surprise the media, and their fanbase and create a social media storm where everyone suddenly becomes a football expert. 

☠️ 🇪🇸 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗝𝗢𝗦É 🏴‍☠️

🖥 Read the Club Announcement 👉🏿 https://t.co/PCTf4T1U1F

⚫️⚪️🔴⭐️#WelcomeJose#OrlandoPirates#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/0rmoKYAuUe

— Orlando Pirates FC (@orlandopirates) June 25, 2022

While debates wrangle on whether they have made the right call with their 15th managerial change since parting ways with Ruud Krol in 2011, what is clear is that Jose Riveiro arrives in South Africa as a relatively unknown figure, which could be a blessing or a curse for their future aspirations.

Pirates are known for winning trophies, and playing an attractive style of football – it is no surprise why they are one of the most supported clubs in Africa – but the last decade has arguably been one of their worst periods in history, notably with an instability of head coaches, with the latest change seeing last season’s co-coach Mandla Ncikazi moved into an assistant role alongside Sergio Almenara, and the 46-year-old Riveiro guiding the ship ahead of the 2022/23 season on a three-year contract.

While he arrives with no major silverware to his name (as a head coach), the Spaniard has earned widespread plaudits for his ‘football mind’. An obsessive tactician with attention to detail that created a brand of football that was easy on the eye during his time with Veikkausliiga side FC Inter Turku.

Among his first words shared upon his appointment, he stated that they will work ‘to make history together’ and ‘build a team’ that all can be proud of in what he dubs as an ‘exciting project’.

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⚽️ 2022/23 Pre-Season
📸 1st Team Training
📅 01 July 2022
📍 Sturrock Park

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⚫️⚪️🔴⭐️#OrlandoPirates#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/4ibZYX4hBL

— Orlando Pirates FC (@orlandopirates) July 1, 2022

Bringing fresh ideas and an unknown style of play to the DStv Premiership could be potentially what Pirates need at this point, as the quality of their squads over the years has never been in doubt; luck and potentially putting all the pieces of the jigsaw together may have been lacking and iDiski Times sought some insight from Finland to find out what the Spaniard could bring the Buccaneers next season.

“[He] was practically unknown in Finland when he came over here to work as an assistant manager for FC Honka and their manager Shefki Kuqi. After a couple of seasons with Kuqi at a couple of teams, Riveiro was signed by the biggest club in Finland, HJK, to work as an assistant manager,” Finnish football expert Vesa Rautio explained.

“Riveiro made his mark there too, working well together with the other coach and the manager, eventually winning the Finnish championship twice. FC Inter Turku wanted to have a modern manager who wanted to play technical and tactical, fast football, and ended up signing Jose Riveiro.

“Riveiro has been touted as ‘a scientist’ as he is always looking for ways to improve the team’s game by concentrating on small details, trying to get rid of any possible issue found. His background staff are pretty good at this too, and that’s probably why Riveiro brought them to Pirates too. 

“They’re a pretty well-oiled machine, having already spent many years together. I have no idea what kind of style of play Pirates used to have, but if Riveiro gets the players to understand where he is aiming with all the details, he probably will make the team better. 

“Naturally he’ll need some time to get to know the players and their skill sets before he chooses which of his preferred tactics to use. With Inter Turku he usually played a 3-4-3 formation, which was quite dynamic. If PIrates give him time he will prevail, I’m sure about it.”

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Coming into a role at a club the size of Pirates, with all its lofty expectations, is daunting enough but the latest running narrative that foreign coaches won’t be able to bring improvement to South African football is potentially short-sighted, and could eventually be to the detriment of the growth of our game.

It’s important to focus on the growth and development of local coaches, but to immediately state someone won’t bring anything to our game is a misconstrued opinion that’s been sowed by the opinions of legends and a select few authoritative voices that’s led to this public discourse. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been several mediocre foreigners landing jobs in South Africa, or the continent as a whole, but rather a suggestion that we should only be vocal and generate our opinions once a fair chance has been given to any coach, whether they are old, young, foreign or local.

In order to win silverware in South African football at this very moment, you are up against the domestic treble winners, Mamelodi Sundowns, and the three wise men in the form of Manqoba Mnqthi, Rulani Mokwena and Steve Komphela; a trio that has proved capable, and some more, to take the work of Pitso Mosimane’s foundation at Masandawana, arguably to the next level with a style of play that has been lauded across the continent.

The likes of Royal AM, AmaZulu, Stellenbosch and Eric Tinkler’s Cape Town City have come to the fore over the past season too, while the rebuild of Kaizer Chiefs under new head coach Arthur Zwane has brought a sense of optimism around the biggest fan base in the country that’s probably not been felt in this decade.

This is just a fraction of what awaits Riveiro in his pursuit of success and silverware next season and potentially beyond, but internally managing the big-name stars at Mayfair could also be a major stumbling block for an inexperienced tactician, who’s walking into the complexities of South African football and the deep-rooted culture that’s likely not anything he’s ever experienced before.

Former Pirates midfielder, Yanga Baliso, who’s plied his trade in Finland over the past two years was honest in his assessment of the incoming coach and about the style of play he brought into the league.

He also feels the size of Inter means that managing egos in the dressing room is something that he may not need to worry about after the experience he had at the elite level of Scandinavian football, where he led the side to the UEFA Europa League for the first time in six years.

“First of all, Inter is one of the very big teams, so I don’t think he’s someone who won’t know how to handle the egos and everything you know, but the players in Europe are different from the players in South Africa when it comes to egos and personalities you know,” Baliso told iDiski Times.

“I think he’s a very good coach, he knows what he’s doing, of course, he’s Spanish, his style is to be aggressive on the attack and I think he walks into a good team, there are good players at Pirates it just needs a little bit of luck so things can click in together.”

Riveiro oversaw 102 games with Inter between January 2019 and December 2021, leading them to 56 wins, 13 draws and 33 defeats in the process.

He left the country with a sterling reputation despite not winning any major trophy, but the same measure of judgement does not await him in South Africa, especially at a club where the fanbase no longer has the patience for another rebuilding project; results, silverware is immediately expected which makes his arrival all the more fascinating.

You can read Lorenz Köhler’s original article about Jose Riveiro, which first appeared in the latest edition of iDiski Times. Click below to read the FREE digital version of the iDiski Times newspaper, with interviews with Noko Matlou, Amogelang Motau, Vasili Manousakis, and Jackson Mabokgwane chatting. There is also a special feature on new Kaizer Chiefs signing Kamohelo Mahlatsi, plus we have two great columns, transfer rumours and much more!