Former Orlando Pirates captain, Lucky Lekgwathi, has offered CAF Champions League advice to the club's head coach, Jose Riveiro, ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The Buccaneers were shockingly eliminated from the Champions League in the second preliminary round by Jwaneng Galaxy.
The match ended 1-1 on aggregate after both teams won their respective home games by 1-0.
Lekgwathi believes Riveiro fielded a weakened team in the first leg. He has urged the coach to select a stronger starting lineup for the first leg of future two-legged ties.
LUCKY LEKGWATHI GIVES ADVICE TO JOSE RIVEIRO ABOUT CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
“We lost because we played a B team but if you can play regular players away and coming back home, you know that you’re leading 3, 4 and you can play guys that are not regulars,” said Lekgwathi during the interview with FARPost.
“But the mistake they made was going there and not play the regular players. It was a learning curve for them.
“I played the Champions League, I reached the semifinal, I reached the final. So, yeah, when you play away, make sure you play your regular players.
“That’s my two cents advice to Orlando Pirates coach that when you play away, play your regulars, play your strong team.
“You win, score many goals and then when you come back home it will be easy.”
Lekgwathi also suggested that the Sea Robbers should seek guidance from Sundowns, who have a consistent presence in the competition.
‘PIRATES MUST LEARN FROM SUNDOWNS’
“When Pitso was still at Sundowns, he said you must learn from Pirates how did they do when they were in Champions League and still playing the league and cup competitions,” he added.
“Now, it’s our turn to go back and learn from Mamelodi Sundowns. They learnt from us and now we must swallow our pride and learn from them.
“But the good thing is we have depth, the players that can challenge for everything.
“Yes, they went there, they failed, playing a team from Botswana and it was a learning curve.”
