By 
My dearest readers………….I always consider myself as an unflappable individual who rarely shows emotions or cracks up under any form of pressure especially when it comes to my first love – football. But the departure of Orlando Pirates Football Club Spanish coach Jose Riveiro this week got to me in a way I can’t put down in words.
I remember we were in deep conversations during Media workshop hosted by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) at Nkonyeni Golf Estate when I got a message on my Orlando Pirates App, where the club announced that Riveiro will be leaving at the end of the season.
I was crest-fallen. I fought back tears. My heart was in deep, excruciating pain. It felt like I had just lost a loved one. It really hit me hard, it felt like a breakup with a person I loved the most.
Later in the evening, I garnered enough strength to make a direct call to the boss of bosses, Orlando Pirates Chairman, Dr. Irvin ‘Iron Duke’ Khoza and the intimate details of the ‘break-up’ with one of the most successful coaches to ever lead this great institution, helped me heal a bit.
But the gashing wound was still there, festering. I was not happy, for one, in announcing the departure of the coach when we were chasing a quadruple as it were. I had seen England’s Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp do the same and everything then went pear-shaped for the ‘Reds of Anfield’.
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As my beloved Pirates wobbled, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory away in Egypt to Pyramid FC, where a combination of atrocious defending and poor substitution saw the dream of a second star remaining just that – a lofty dream – I sunk into despair.
Then came the Nedbank Cup final loss last Saturday to the worst team in the Betway premiership – I was numbed. Again, the poor substitution and doggy refereeing left me on the ropes.
Part of me felt Riveiro’s heart was no longer here – he had already made a deal with the most successful team in the continent Al Ahly. Part of me started to question his loyalty and I felt if he had been loyal he would have stayed on and continue to build Pirates into a continental giant after he had successfully returned the mighty Buccaneers to their former domestic glory – five trophies in three seasons.
Part of me felt if the man had been selfless he would have aligned his quest for personal glory with that of the Soweto giants who had just missed out in participating in the final for the first time since 2013.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a sin for Riveiro to go for a better offer elsewhere and jump the Bucs ship. We have seen coaches and players leave for other teams who have offered them better pay. We have also seen teams get rid of coaches when they under perform.
This game, just like life itself, has no sympathy or even loyalty. Riveiro’s departure also highlights the fact that in this era, it will be difficult to reproduce managers like Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger.
But then I remembered, Riveiro in an interview he had with Supersport anchor Thomas Mlambo, had stated that he doesn’t spend more than three years at a club.
That statement really made me belt a wry smile. The ‘Iron Duke’ Khoza had casually, many a times, reminded me how some hare-brained Pirates fans had call the coach names even labelling him a plumber when he came to the club unknown and having not won anything in his coaching career worth the tag.
From plumber to craftsman.
Maybe he was indeed a plumber. He found leakages in pipes at Pirates – a defence with more holes than Swiss Cheese, having conceded 39 goals in the 2021/22 season. He was a plumber because there were blockages in the pipes at the ‘Sea Robbers’. Our strikers were misfiring.
Peprah, Dzukumanja & Co. missed when it seemed easier to score than to miss. Maybe he was a plumber because there was ‘low water pressure pipes’ at Pirates – the team’s morale was very low, and it needed a good leader.
The players needed someone they could vent to, someone approachable and a good mentor. Indeed, maybe he was a plumber because there was a ‘drain maintenance’ in the Bucs ship.
The club needed someone who would bring back the culture and maintain our identity. Riveiro has brought all that – and more.
You had to have a heart of a stone, not to be emotional on Tuesday night after the 3-0 win over Golden Arrows when the Pirates fans, in a remarkable and emotional gesture, bid goodbye to the amiable Spaniard who taught all of us the power of silence.
I watched the episode like a grandfather watching his grandchildren in the family yard make fools of themselves on Christmas Day after devouring mountains of meals, washing them down with a cesspool of Fanta Orange. I think I even shed a tear. It was moving and too emotional.
While many coaches will be remembered for the trophies they have won, Jose Riveiro, cool, calm, and collected, will be remembered for the calmness, humbleness and enduring success he brought to South African football and Orlando Pirates, in particular.
He will be remembered for the impact and the legacy of allowing the club to live within its means and most importantly for restoring the tarnished pride, bruised egos and confidence to everyone associated with this great institution in three years.
Jose, you have reminded the South African football at large, even continental, that if young players are good enough, they are old enough. Look at our national team, Sihlangu Semnikati, still taking 37-year-olds to a bonafide developmental competition like the COSAFA Cup yet failing to reach the finals, never mind winning it.
Riveiro didn’t introduce young players like Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Ndlozi and Mohau Nkota in the first team to prove a point like we have seen other coaches, but he did it because he was convinced that they were ready to deliver and he has been proven right.
Today, Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has a wider pool of players to choose from – thanks to Jose in believing in the scouting and coaching at development level where former Pirates classy winger Joseph ‘Duku Duku’ Makhanya is doing a commendable job.
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Jose, many have chanted your name harmoniously in every stadium in Mzansi for the joy and passion you have brought to the club.
How we gonna miss the way you handled the TV interviews; showing respect to your opponents and always advocating for the collective rather than individual praise for your players. A man of impeccable leadership qualities, driven by calmness even under extreme pressure.
Your ability to navigate the game and change its shape left us Buccaneers in awe. Riveiro, the plumber – indeed you ‘plumbered’ our hearts back, you ignited the passion, and your warmth filled us up.
Right now, I am shaking in my boots thinking what direction the powers that be at Pirates will take in deciding the new captain to steer the Sea Robbers ship since you have disembarked. Whosoever comes through has a hard act to follow because you have set the bar just a tad too high.
But I was happy to hear you tell the supporters that; “To Orlando Pirates supporters, you have to be supportive – as well as with the new coach, whoever is coming is coming with intention to help the team go to the next level.
I am really going to miss each and everyone of you. I love you and will always have my heart in Orlando Stadium,”
132 games; 80 wins; 26 draws; 26 losses; three seasons; FIVE trophies. He came in quietly; he left a legend. From ‘plumber’ to master craftsman.
Muchos Gracias Padre Jose Riveiro…………..Once & Always since 1937!
(Send your comments to: lwazid@rubiconmedia.group or lwazid005@gmail.com)
