Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has lauded the tenacity of his team during their CAF Champions League quarter-final against MC Alger of Algeria.
Pirates made sure to clinch a place in the semi-final after a strong defensive display in the second leg at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday, to secure a goalless draw, but a 1-0 win on aggregate following their victory in the first leg last week.
Riveiro is wowed that his team qualified for the semi-final for the first time since 2013 and was pleased that they were up to the task against a well-drilled MC Alger team.
“Orlando Pirates was the better team I think during the two games,” Riveiro told SABC.
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“So congratulations to the boys, to the club, to our fans. This is a fantastic moment for all of us and we have to really enjoy the moment. There’s nothing that can change the fact that we are in the semi-finals.
“Oh, it’s a difficult team to play against long balls one after the other. It doesn’t matter you cannot press them, you cannot have possession in their half after pressing because they will kick the ball as soon as they see a little bit of ball possession.
“They are good in the second actions. They are a strong, good side, so they have the capacity at least to take you there for two or more times after the long ball. But I don’t think that we suffered so much in those actions”.
“I think the game of our back-five, back-three was excellent [Thalente] Mbatha and [Makhehleni] Makhaula in the second balls Rele [Relebohile Mofokeng]. The way that Dion [Hotto] and Deano [Van Rooyen] helped us to run away of the pressing in the first half it was excellent.”
Pirates’ fighting spirit wows Riveiro
The Spanish tactician was also impressed by the fighting spirit of his side as they resisted everything thrown at them in both legs to emerge unscathed.
“We play with a big heart. We play the way that you have to play this type of games. It’s not about making the game beautiful. It’s not going to be beautiful, it cannot be,” he added.
“You need two teams to try to play good football. If it’s only one, it’s not possible. So you know it’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a war and it was like that what we expected.”
Pirates will now face Egyptian club Pyramids in the semi-final as they look to emulate their 1995 heroics when they won their first and only Champions League title.
