Orlando Pirates will return to Caf Champions League action on Saturday evening and will look to maintain their unbeaten run when they face Stade D’Abidjan in the capital of Ivory Coast.
Pirates will be going to a familiar territory out in Abidjan, a city where they achieved their greatest-ever feat in 1995 when they beat ASEC Mimosa 1-0 through Jerry Sikhosana.
So, a lot will be riding on this match and the stakes will be at their utmost high.
Bucs are second on four points
After two matches played so far in Group C, the Buccaneers currently sit in position two with four points, while Stade D’Abidjan languishes at the bottom of the table with nothing to show.
The Ivorian outfit lost their opening two games against Al Ahly and CR Belouizdad. The Sea Robbers, on the other hand, won their first game against Belouizdad and drew at home against the defending champions Al Ahly two weeks ago.
Speaking to the media ahead of the clash, Bucs coach Jose Riveiro said despite the game having some bit of history behind it, their focus will solely be on the present moment and that will be to collect the much-needed maximum points.
Representing South Africa with pride
“Obviously we are representing Orlando Pirates wherever we go, we are the first team in our country to get this star here,” Riveiro said.
“So, it’s just talking about the club’s dimension but right now it’s just history. We are here to live our journey and to try to write our own history with the club.
“But we are not going far from the fact we are going to play one game tomorrow important three points and understanding the difficulty of the task that we will face.
Riveiro added: “We had a tough beginning of the group stages, one game away with Belouizdad where we managed to perform in an excellent way.
“An interesting game one week ago against Al Ahly in Orlando where we managed to cope with one of the best teams in the continent if not the best and here, we are right now with the intention to performing to our best [at this venue].”
The game will get underway at 6pm (SA time).
