A taste of Spain as Orlando Pirates confirm Jose Riveiro as head coach

Orlando Pirates announced the appointment of Jose Riveiro as new head coach on a three-year deal, the club confirmed on Saturday.

The 46-year-old will be assisted by Sergio Almenara as well as Mandla Ncikazi, who remains the only technical staff member surviving the previous regime under Josef Zinnbauer.

"First of all, I would like to send a greeting to all the fans of Orlando Pirates," Riveiro, who hails from Spain, told the club's official website.

"I am delighted to have joined the club. The Pirates project is an exciting one and I look forward to what lies ahead.

"It is an honour for me and my colleagues to have the responsibility to coach such an institution and compete for the highest goals."

Riveiro added: "Along with my support team, we are looking forward to arriving and joining the task force and the group of players to start working immediately.

"We are going to work to make history together and build a team that we are all proud of."

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers also confirmed Miguel Bellver Esteve as clubs fitness trainer and Tyron Damons as the new goalkeeper coach.

Riveiro fills the post that has been vacant since December 2020 after Zinnbauer resigned as head coach, sighting family reasons for his departure and returning to his native Germany.

Since then, the Buccaneers entrusted assistant coaches Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids to lead the team.

However, Pirates opted not to renew Davids' contract that expires at the end of June, fueling speculation that the Soweto giants will finally name an official new mentor.

Pirates described Riveiro a "modern, progressive coach with exciting, attacking football as his philosophy" and is expected to be in the country next week with the Buccaneers kick-starting their 2022/23 preseason campaign.

Riveiro's last stint as head coach was in Finland for FC Turku, guiding the Black and Blues to a fourth place finish in the 2021 season.