Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is over the moon with his last-minute signings Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo, Kermit Erasmus and Sipho Chaine and believes the trio can start against Mamelodi Sundowns at the weekend.
Sparks are expected to fly when the Buccaneers clash against the all-dominating Brazilians in the semi-final of the MTN8 at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“We are happy with our new recruitments. We have a group of players who have been doing very well and now we have three more, and they come with the intention to help us and to be a part of a good collective,” said Riveiro.
“Their adaptation so far is very good and they will be available [for the game against Sundowns], but it is still early in the week, we are only playing on Saturday and we [shall] see who is ready to play.
“It’s a special game for everyone, for the fans, the media and the players. We will approach the game like we always do and try to have a good day. We have an opportunity to show what we can do. We will try to win our first match so that we can have an advantage [going into the second leg of the tournament late in October].”
The Spanish coach played down Sundowns’ dominance in the last couple of years, saying he does not want to focus on the past.
“The past two seasons are in the past. We want to look into the future with positivity. We have a chance to rewrite our new history, that’s what we try to do in each and every single game,” said Riveiro.
“It does not make sense for me to think about what were the results of the two teams in their previous matches. The players are hungry and looking forward to this game, because they are ambitious and they are professionals.”
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