Former Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has insisted he has no regrets about leaving the Buccaneers for Al Ahly seven months ago.
The Spaniard exited the Bucs camp in May after Pirates granted him an early release from his contract, and moved to Egypt, where he linked up with Al Ahly but only lasted a mere three months in the job before he was fired.
“I don’t know if people understood the nature of my decision at that time, but I didn’t leave Pirates because I moved to Al Ahly. It was a decision that was made a long, long time ago (to leave). They (Pirates) knew, and Ahly came later,” said Riveiro, in conversation with Metro FM.
“The only thing that I didn’t like about what happened was the fact that I moved before the season ends here. I wasn’t happy about that.
“It was a must, yeah, from Ahly (to prepare for the FIFA Club World Cup)… But I didn’t have any other option at that time, and I had to do it in that way. I was lucky that the club (Pirates) helped me a lot. Pirates people were backing me all the time, and they made it easy for me to find a way to be there (at Al Ahly) on time. I had the possibility to play that (FIFA Club) World Cup.”
Riveiro is back in South Africa to guide the Carling All Stars against the Carling Knockout champions (Orlando Pirates or Marumo Gallants) on 13 December.
First things first, the Carling Knockout will take place on 6 December in Polokwane, and a week later, the champions will meet the Carling All Stars, which is selected by fans, in Durban. Riveiro was voted in as coach.
He is on a job hunt but says he will take his time to make a decision when offers are put on the table.
“It depends. I agree with you; it can be a place where you have the opportunity to continue winning titles, but it’s also about the way you do it,” he said.
“Somehow, you must share the philosophy with the club in terms of the brand of football that they want to play. The profile of the players as well. I really like to work with young players, with young prospects, with players that are still fighting for their future. The combination of both things is, I think, the ideal scenario.
“The stability in football is difficult to ask from my position as a coach. It’s something that you need to earn, to deserve also, week after week. But yeah, that’s basically what I’m looking for. It’s difficult to ask for a project with patience and stuff like that, because we, as coaches, are signing basically six-game contracts, let’s say, depending on where you go, but at the same time, places where you know that they know exactly what they want and you are just one part of that project as well.”
