Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro admits Mamelodi Sundowns are packed with quality on and off the field and has been impressed by them since his arrival.
The Spaniard was appointed in the off-season as the successor to co-coaches Fadlu Davids and Mandla Ncikazi, with the later moving back into an assistant coaching role.
And this season, they’ve already faced Sundowns four times; twice in the MTN8, which Pirates drew 0-0 and won 3-0, the Carling Cup final, which saw Masandawana run out 4-0 winners, and then at Loftus in December where the Brazilians won 2-0 in the league.
With 24 points separating the league leaders and fourth-placed Pirates, who have two games in hand, the gulf in class is there for all to see this season, Masadawana are a level above the rest in terms of quality and consistency.
“In every league, you will always find teams that, because of their identity, because of their style, because of the profile of players, you know what’s coming, you can prepare the game in a solid way,” Riveiro said ahead of the game when asked by iDiski Times what he makes of Sundowns quality in his debut season.
“The team is consistent, like Sundowns, and then there are other games [in the league] where the quality of the players are good but you are a bit uncertain about what will happen [tactically].
“Maybe you’re at home and they change their strategies because they are facing Pirates or Sundowns… this is not the case [on Saturday]. Both teams will come to the field with their own plans and identity and will try and dictate the plan.
“Then it becomes a question of who is better during those 90 minutes to be the one who is dictating the things that are going to happen. So obviously the level of the players is so good, it’s not by chance that they are in a very good moment after 13, 14 games in a row.
“It means they are doing things well in every department, not only on the field and we like to face those games, the level of the challenge – we always want to play against the best teams in the league because that’s the way we improve. In that sense, it’s going to require the best of the players on the field and the coaches in order to prepare better than the opponent.”
The Sea Robbers host Rulani Mokwena’s side on Saturday afternoon at the Orlando Stadium (15h30).
