Cape Town — Spaniard José Riveiro will not have a hands-on approach as Orlando Pirates set out to claim bragging rights in Saturday's Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium.
Pirates coach Riveiro is serving a two-match suspension after being red-carded in his side’s 2-0 win over All Stars in the Nedbank Cup two weeks ago. Instead of barking instructions from the touchline, Riveiro will be an onlooker in the stands. The suspension will end on Saturday.
However, despite being banished to the stands, Riveiro feels the team will not be adversely affected because the team's supporting technical staff will share the burden in the dug-out on matchday. Assistant coaches Sergio Almenara and Mandla Ncikazi will be the ones calling the shots during the Soweto derby.
“Unfortunately I’m not going to be there on the bench, where I’m supposed to be,” said Riveiro at Thursday's press conference
“It is not a big problem for the players nor anyone else nowadays. I have a fantastic support staff that I can call on.
“The players at Pirates are used to working with all of our coaches. We are all at the same level as when they work with me. The coaches all have different roles and they are used to dealing with a situation on match days."
Riveiro had a chance to experience what it was like sitting in the stands last week when Pirates played against Maritzburg City.
“Like I said one week ago, our influence on the game from the bench, our instructions from the bench on a normal day are not much," said Riveiro.
“We try to convey some movements and instructions but it’s not easy to make contact with our players. You can have an idea of how it is at the FNB Stadium with 90,000 spectators present and trying to communicate with the players.
“We have an opportunity before the game, we have an opportunity at half-time to influence the game development. Unfortunately, I cannot be there as well but it’s not an issue.
“In our club the important people are the people who are in the field, the 11 players, and they know what to do and they can make decisions there, so it’s not going to be an issue at all.”
Apart from Riveiro, Pirates, who are riding the crest of a wave, will be without key players.
Central defenders Nkosinathi Sibisi and Nigerian Olisa Ndah are nursing injuries and are unlikely to make the squad for duty on Saturday. Ndah has been far and away one of Pirates' best players this season,
Sibisi is still nursing an injury he picked up against Mamelodi Sundowns on February 4 this year.
Ghana's Richard Ofori is also struggling to shake off an injury. It is unlikely that the Black Stars goalkeeper will be fit for Saturday.
IOL Sport