Former Orlando Pirates winger Dikgang Mabalane believes the side’s former coach Jose Riveiro deserves credit for their success in the 2025/26 season, as he is the one who laid the foundation.
The Spaniard spent two-and-half seasons with Pirates where he won five domestic cups, while finishing twice behind Mamelodi Sundowns in the league. He was replaced by Abdeslam Ouaddou who in his maiden term secured a treble which included the club’s first Betway Premiership title in 14 years.
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Mabalane, 46, a member of the last Pirates group to win treble in 2012 spoke to iDiski Times senior journalist Matshelane Mamabolo in edition 257 of the newspaper, where he said Riveiro also put together the core of the team.
“I think this group was already built by Riveiro,” Mabalane told IDiski Times.
“But two seasons ago, it was difficult because they were building, bringing in new players who are going to be champion material and then bringing in a championship-inspired coach.
“The interesting thing is that this victory did not take one coach. People must not forget what Riveiro did before Ouaddou came in to finish it. Give credit to not only the current coach but also the one who came before as well.
“When we won the double-treble, there were coaches before we won it, and they had laid the foundation, and there were players too who had worked hard to build what we completed. It was the same with this team, too.”