Orlando Pirates are making their intentions of getting back to the top of the pile in domestic football crystal clear with ground-breaking plans to prepare for the new season out of the country. Following what has been described as a successful campaign for the Buccaneers, who won the MTN8 as well as the Nedbank Cup while finishing second in the DStv Premiership, they are going for broke in the new season.
Soccer Laduma has been informed that the club is finalising elaborate, if not ambitious, plans to conduct their pre-season not just outside the country but in Europe. The Siya crew has been reliably informed that Pirates will spend a considerable time in Spain, the native country of their current coach Jose Riveiro, preparing until shortly before the start of the 2023/24 season.
If anything, the plans are indicative of their intention to mount a serious challenge not just on the domestic front, but for the CAF Champions League as well after qualifying as league runners-up. Several big-name players have also been linked to the side, another clear indication that they are preparing for a full-throttle onslaught both domestically and in the continent.
In the past, they have often travelled to the eastern province of Mbombela or Rustenburg, but are going one step further with their proposed plans to go big and challenge the dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns in the next campaign. The Tshwane giants have, in the past, conducted their preseason training in neighbouring countries like Eswatini, Zambia and even Namibia, but now Pirates are going slightly further.
However, details of the European sojourn have not been finalised and it is not clear at this stage whether they will engage in friendly matches against Spanish top or lower division clubs. Soccer Laduma will keep you updated.
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