By Micheal Madyira
Orlando Pirates attacker Patrick Maswanganyi has reserved special praise for coach Jose Riveiro as the Buccaneers edged closer to defending the Nedbank Cup.
The Spaniard has carved a reputation for being a mastermind in Cup games since arriving in the Premier Soccer League before the start of last season.
He has managed to win back-to-back MTN8 titles and is now on course to defend the Nedbank Cup.
The Buccaneers reached the semi-finals of South Africa’s biggest knockout competition after coming from behind to beat AmaZulu 4-2 on Saturday.
It was a match in which Maswanganyi grabbed a brace, but the attacker is giving all the credit to his coach.
“I think it’s not the first time we’ve been there; many times we never came back from losing positions but ever since we started believing in ourselves, what we do, to be patient also,” Maswanganyi said on SuperSport TV.
“We have a great coach who also helps us slow down the momentum.
“No matter what happens, he helps us chill and makes sure we play our own football, also to give great passes to each other, to be natural and relax, and we did that.”
Defending the Nedbank Cup would act as a reprieve for the Buccaneers, who look likely to miss out on the PSL title.
Riveiro shares his knowledge of how he has mastered the art of winning Cup games.
“I’m happy for the boys, they fought a lot, we played football when it was time to play football, we fought when it was time to fight,” the Spaniard said.
“The Cup games are like this, you have to play three, four different games inside the 90 minutes and I think we were a better team in all of them.”
Pirates now switch focus to the PSL campaign, and will host AmaZulu in their next match on Saturday.
Pictured above: Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro.
Image source: Orlando Pirates
