Who’s A Plumber Now?

Then Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing." – This Luke 23:34 verse came to mind after the final whistle of the Nedbank Cup final, where Orlando Pirates beat Sekhukhune United 2-1 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium to seal a double-winning campaign, after triumphing in the MTN8 earlier on, and finishing second – securing a CAF Champions League spot – all of this in coach Jose Riveiro's first season at the helm of the Soweto giants!

"Why that verse?" you might be asking, if you've been living under a rock or have not been following social media and how Pir­ates' announcement of their new coach lit­erally broke the internet, dividing opinion with most clearly not impressed by the for­mer double treble-winning team's choice of the man to lead their team. Some were even quick to accuse the club chairman, Dr Irvin Khoza, of not having the club's best interests at heart, let alone caring about the support­ers' frustrations over the club's continued trophy drought. This was exacerbated by the fact that coach Pitso Mosimane, who was one of the fan-favourites, had just become a free agent after parting ways with Al Ahly, while Dan Malesela, the club's former captain, was also in the market. In the supporters' eyes, it had to be one of the two locals to usher in a new dawn, reviving this sleeping giant of South African football. The then-unknown coach must have had this verse in the back of his mind, bracing himself for the task at hand and proving all the Doubting Thom­ases wrong. Hell, has he not made people eat a humble pie in his very first season?

Not just his first season at Pirates or in the country but the continent as well, a complete stranger, yet he made no excuse about need­ing time to adjust and familiarise himself with the league. Neither did he give reasons (read excuses) about players not understand­ing his philosophy yet and needing more time. You never heard him complain about match officials, opposition's 'dirty' play, the uneven field, ball boys, security personnel and all the other excuses we are normally fed as reasons teams didn't perform to the coach's satisfac­tion, in the post-match television interviews. This is a coach who never blasts his charges, even after committing schoolboy errors, in front of the cameras but calmly finds a way to explain the disappointment in a way that will not set the player up against the sup­porters. Someone who always takes time to acknowledge the team's 12th man.

On May 20, Pirates released a "Season Fi­nale" on their social media platforms, which was a snapshot of their 2022/23 campaign. A very interesting and well-captured recollec­tion of the season that was, one must admit! Secondly, this was clearly the club's retort: Who's a plumber now? The 2:20-minute video clip summed it all up and we will all remem­ber the lukewarm reception the 47-year-old received when he was announced as the man to replace German mentor Josef Zinnbauer whose unexpected departure saw coaches Fadlu Davids and Mandla Ncikazi take over as interim co-coaches for the remainder of 2021/22 season. A lot of people were quick to judge the book by its cover, questioning his experience or lack thereof, not occupying a senior coaching seat at the highest level, not to mention no real silverware-winning experience and everything in between, in his Curriculum Vitae. It was clear for everyone to see that not everyone, even some of the staunch Pirates supporters, could fathom why the Houghton-based club would go for this Spanish mentor, out of everyone avail­able in the market. What made things even worse was the coach's name, Jose, after his more popular namesake Jose Mourinho, as well as his Spanish origins. The man had all the odds stacked against him, before he could even take up a training session!

True to South African football supporters' form, coach Riveiro soon found out he was called a 'plumber' in some sections, a name mostly reserved for unknown European coaches making their way to our shores.

To say coach Jose Riveiro has made a lot of people eat humble pie would be an understatement! A lot has gone right for Bucs this past season. They won the MTN8, Nedbank Cup, finished second on 54 points and brought home the Q-4 Innovation award. If anyone had predicted such a season for the Black and White, everyone would have laughed off their chairs. Had it not been for Mamelodi Sundowns' consistency and dominance, coupled with Pirates' naivety at times, where they dropped points they shouldn't have, the Spanish mentor could have had an even better season by adding the DStv Premiership title to his list of achieve­ments, at first attempt, with his new club. When you looked at the team's pre-season camp and watched their behind-the-scenes content, it was clear to see that this was a man on a mission, with a vision for the Buc­caneers. He knew exactly what he wanted to achieve even with his 'questionable' history not doing his future plans any justice. Now, the soft-spoken mentor has succeeded where others fear to tread.

The question is: Who is laughing now and who is a plumber now? On behalf of those who doubted coach Riveiro, we sincerely apolo­gise, coach! Surely they've all learned their lesson, albeit the hard way. The 'plumber' tag will now be pushed under the carpet for some time, thanks to you. The results of your work proved you to be a genius, attention-to-de­tail kind of a coach rather than a plumber. The improvement we've seen in your team, in just a season, has been unbelievable. Not only did you improve the team's log position, satiated the trophy thirst, you also improved both their defensive and attacking numbers. Bucs scored 34 and conceded 28 times last campaign and you turned that to 40 and 21 respectively! Even when you made unpopu­lar calls, you stood by them and shut the noise out. You brought a breath of fresh air to South African football, especially where foreign coaches would come in and look down on what we have, try to change things and even dictate to us on how to run our own show. Your humility is unquestionable and visible in your touchline etiquette. The de­meanour with which you carry yourself, the way you protect your players all the time speak of someone who knows exactly what they are doing.

Your CV coming here may not have been as impressive as some would have liked, but you proved it is unwise to judge a book by its cover. Congratulations and well done on a massive first season, coach. You've really earned everything that's come your way, as you quietly knuckled down to business with less talk but more action. Forgive those who called you a plumber because it is just a tag given to coaches with very little to write home about. The truth of the matter is that there was very little known about you before this past season – however, you've left everyone with enough content to write a book rather than compiling an impressive CV in just one season! You didn't show us who you are or what you're about through speeches but your actions. The unknown is now known and re­vered. Once again, please forgive those who doubted you and called you names. Enjoy the off-season! 

Cheers, 

Veejay