Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says the atmosphere at Orlando Stadium in the Original Soweto against Swallows derby felt like a party.
In his first DStv Premiership match as the leader of the Buccaneers, he oversaw an impressive performance with debutant Bienvenu Eva Nga netting the only goal of the game.
And in reflection on his first meeting with the home supporters in Soweto, he said it felt like a celebration in comparison to what he experienced in Europe prior to his move to the PSL.
“It’s a nice atmosphere, it’s amazing to be a part of this, all the people were signing from the first minute, cheering and supporting, it’s a different way to live the games, if I compare with Europe, it looks more like a party, but it’s good,” Riveiro said in the post-match press conference.
“The people are having fun, pushing in some moments and making noise, the way we want to play football it’s going to be [important] for us, we have to still push and force the people to play the game with us.”
The Spanish tactician went on to explain why it’s imperative to have the backing of the fans and bring them back to the stadium, should they want to have a successful 2022/23 campaign.
“They need to be part of our performance, if we managed to do that we’ll be super strong here at home and that means a lot of points at the end of the season. Like today we have a difficult time in the second half for 10, 15 minutes, where we had some doubts,” he continued.
“I don’t know what it means for the players you know, each of them as individuals but for me, have the people behind, cheering and pushing – it makes sense, it’s logic all the time we spent trying to do things. So we play for them.”
Pirates now travel to the Western Cape next to face Stellenbosch FC at the Danie Craven Stadium on Wednesday evening (19h30).
