Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro could write club history come the end of the 2024-25 season by becoming only the second coach to last a full three seasons in the long history of the Buccaneers.
To date, since Pirates were founder members of the National Professional Soccer League in1971 – the forerunner of today’s Premier Soccer League – only the former Dutch World Cup captain Ruud Krol has lasted as long.
Is this a sign of things to come for Pirates in the new football season? 👀
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) July 18, 2024
Gilberto scored against Granada and whipped out this celebration 🕺 pic.twitter.com/RCVJnV9OTa
The former Netherlands’ record international had been national team coach of Egypt before he joined the Sea Robbers.
He would become the first coach in Pirates’ history to last more than two seasons in charge and in his third season they won the league in 2011, only for Krol to not have his contract renewed.
The 48-year-old Riveiro has won two cup trophies in each of his first two seasons at Pirates, taking back-to-back MTN8s and Nedbank Cups, but this campaign will be looking to end the long dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns in the league.
Here is a closer look at the Pirates coaches of the last four decades:
Dave Milton: Pirates were in relegation danger in September, 1984 when the unheralded Milton was appointed to help them out of trouble, and guided them to the Mainstay Cup final where they lost to Chiefs.
Milton, who had coached previously at Benoni United, departed soon into the new season as Pirates were torn in two by the split from the NPSL, which saw the creation of the National Soccer League.
Sergio dos Santos: The ex-Hellenic star had been Milton’s assistant at Benoni United and went across with Milton to the Buccaneers as assistant coach.
Milton had a job offer in Britain to return to, and amid all the turmoil at the club, did not hesitate to depart, leaving Dos Santos to take over.
Charles Segale: His brother Ben was coach of Sundowns, making for an unusual pair of brothers coaching in the top flight of South African football at the same time.
Segale’s first game in charge was on a double header 1986 opening day extravaganza at Ellis Park where Pirates were handed a 4-1 thumping by Jomo Cosmos.
Frank Pereira: The Cape Town City and Kaizer Chiefs playing legend had been player coach at Benoni in the last days of his career but ‘Jingles’ was a surprise appointment in 1986 for struggling Pirates, taking time to produce the results.
They ended the season in 13th place, a slight improvement on the previous season but again lost 15 games in the league campaign.
Dave Roberts: Formerly at Bloemfontein Celtic, the gruff Liverpudlian had a proven track record in South African football and, although his first game in charge was a 6-1 thrashing by Sundowns in the Top Eight Cup, he had Pirates finish in third spot at the end of 1990.
Jacob Sephoa: Former Chiefs player replaced Roberts in 1991 but there was never a sense of continuity for him and he was fired after losing 3-0 in the derby to Chiefs at Soccer City.
Manny Pinheiro: The ex-Lusitano star had no previous coaching experience when Pirates asked him to take over in 1991, and they finished fifth.
At the start of the 1992 season, Pirates lost their opening three league games and he was fired.
Geoff Hudson: The Yorkshire-born coach, who played in the English league between 1950-1967, came after several years working in east Africa and had taken Uganda’s Nakivubo Villa the previous year to the final of the African Champions Cup.
In his second month in charge, Pirates won the 1992 Castle Challenge but he left after two months of the 1993 campaign after winning the Top Eight Cup.
Mike Makaab: A builder by trade who never played top-flight football and had only coached at Manning Rangers, was hired in March 1994 and took the club to their first title in 18 years, albeit after a boardroom decision to give Pirates an extra point after Vaal Professionals failed to produce ID cards for a game with Pirates that had ended 1-1. He left midway through the 1995 season.
Joe Frickleton: The tough Scotsman, who had been both a championship winning player and coach at Highlands Park and then had further success with Lusitano and Chiefs, was brought on board to steer Pirates through the defence of their league title and in the African Champions Cup but he was sacked after a calamitous 2-2 draw in the home leg of the final against ASEC Abidjan.
Ronald Mkhandawire: The Zambian defender had been assistant coach and was charged with taking charge of the second leg of the final in Abidjan as Pirates overcame all the odds for a 3-2 aggregate triumph in one of the great days of South African football. He was a caretaker again on three more occasions.
Viktor Bondarenko: The former Russian international had been Mozambique’s coach, joining Pirates in 1986 and seeing them to African Super Cup and Top Eight Cup success.
He was there for the launch of new PSL in August 1996 and had a second stint at Pirates in 1998.
Augusto Palacios: The Peruvian had been in South Africa for a decade already, first playing at Witbank Aces and then coaching the likes of Free State Stars, Chiefs, Sundowns and Bafana Bafana.
But his first tenure at Pirates proved short as the supporters came baying for his blood. He was back in 2001, again in 2003, then 2012 when he finally steered Pirates to a league title and 2016.
Shaibu Amidu: The coach of Nigeria’s BCC Lions, when they won the African Cup Winners’ Cup in 1990, and who would later go to coach Nigeria’s national team on multiple occasions, arrived in October 1997 to take charge of Pirates. They finished third again at the end of the season.
Ted Dumitru: Romanian coach, who took up the Pirates’ post in 1999 on the back of two successive titles with Sundowns, completing his ‘coaching hat-trick’ of the top clubs after also working at Chiefs.
He was paired with the club’s technical head Augusto Palacios in a relationship few thought could really work. His stay at Pirates lasted six months.
Gordon Igesund: Igesund had come through the hard knocks coaching school, first combining playing with coaching at Witbank Aces, Klerksdorp City and Leeds United.
After he hung up his boots he worked at AmaZulu, African Wanderers and D’ Alberton Callies, winning promotion. In 1997 he won the first PSL title with Manning Rangers and his second came with the Buccaneers in 2001.
Jean-Yves Kerjean: From the village of Ploudalmézeau in Brittany in France, Kerjean was an unknown factor when he arrived in South Africa.
He took the club to a third place finish in 2002 but was never a convincing personality, despite a club career that took in stints at Stade Rennes and Olympique Marseille.
Roy Barreto: He had been national coach of his native Zimbabwe and then moved to Free State Stars before seeing Pirates home to the title in 2003. He was fired early in the next season.
Kosta Papic: Pirates went to Nigeria to hire the Serbian who had started his coaching career at Mladnost in his home country but had been working in west Africa, notably at Enyimba, but had a high turnover of jobs.
He took Bucs to a second place finish at the end of the 2004 season, and repeated the feat in his second season in charge.
Tebego Moloi: Moloi, who had been the assistant coach, oversaw the final two games of the 2004-06 season after Papic left, including the 2006 Absa Cup final against Chiefs which ended goalless but saw Chiefs take the trophy on post-match penalties.
Milutin Sredojevich: Youthful Serbian coach ‘Micho’ had worked in Uganda and Ethiopia but lasted six months in 2006, returning in 2017 as he took Pirates to second place in successive seasons.
A seedy encounter with a hotel chambermaid overshadowed his departure as he hastily quit to take a job with Zamalek just after the start of the 2019-2020 season.
Kalambay Mutombo: ‘Bibey’ first joined Pirates as the club’s technical director, bringing impressive qualifications from Belgium and experience with the national team of his native Democratic Republic of Congo.
He then had to step into the coaching job after Sredojevich was shown the door. He quit under increasing pressure early in the 2007-08 season after Pirates lost three of their opening four league matches.
Owen da Gama: Started coaching while still concluding his impressive playing career, making his name taking Silver Stars from the lower ranks up to the top flight and Telkom Knockout success in 2006.
He was appointed as Bucs coach in a time of crisis in October 2007 but was unable to turn around their fortunes and their eighth place finish in the league was their worst in 21 years.
Ruud Krol: The Netherlands’ World Cup captain had been national team coach of Egypt.
He would become the first coach in Pirates’ history to last more than two seasons in charge and in his third season they won the league in 2011, only to not have his contract renewed.
Julio Cesar Leal: The Brazilian made his name by leading his country’s under-20 team to the World Youth Championship title in Australia in 1993.
He signed a three-year deal with Pirates in 2011 but lasted only nine months, departing even though the club were on their way to retaining their league title.
Roger de Sa: The former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper had not long left Wits when he landed the Pirates job, finishing his first season in third place, and then lasted six month into the 2013-14 season before quitting, but not before taking the team to the Champions League final where they lost to Al Ahly of Egypt.
Eric Tinkler: A member of South Africa’s 1996 Cup of Nations winning team and was De Sa’s long-time assistant but stayed on as caretaker coach for eight matches.
Pirates refused to make Tinkler’s appointment permanent even though he coached them for a second spell, including progress to the African Confederation Cup final where they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Etoile Sahel of Tunisia.
Vladimir Vermezovic: Appointing a former Kaizer Chiefs coach, less than two years after he left AmaKhosi, came as a surprise choice but the Serbian hit the ground running after his arrival in March 2014 and won his first trophy just two months later as Pirates beat Wits 3-1 in the Nedbank Cup final. But before the year was out, he had quit.
Muhsin Ertugral: The Turkish coach fell on his sword after just nine games as Pirates suffered their heaviest league defeat in a 6-1 thumping in Nelspruit at the hands of SuperSport United in 2006.
Ertugral resigned immediately in the post-match television interview, having been unbeaten in the previous six league matches but drawing four in a row.
Kjell Jonevret: Jonevret had won the league in Sweden and also done well in Norway but battled to come to grips with the African experience. When he left he was one of the few Pirates coaches to bemoan continual interference in his job.
Rulani Mokwena: Pitso Mosimane’s former assistant had jumped ship to Pirates to assist Micho and when the Serbian left in a hurry, he got his chance to be in charge.
But a single win in his first six league games, plus MTN8 elimination at the hands of Highlands Park, saw him axed.
Joe Zinnbauer: A former Bundesliga coach with Hamburger SV, arriving months before the Covid-19 pandemic, then the bio-bubble and a horror car crash involving his son in Germany. It all made for a difficult tenure which ended one game into the 2020-21 season.
Fadlu Davids: Former striker and coach at Maritzburg United who was prodigy of Ernst Middendorp. He was one of the assistants under Zinnbauer and stepped up to the hot seat in tandem with Mandla Ncikazi
Mandla Ncikazi: Played as defender and captained African Wanderers before coaching at the likes of Lamontville Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United.
Pirates signed him initially to be Zinnbauer’s assistant but he was hoisted in the hot seat with Davids, and took the side to the 2022 African Confederation Cup final.
Jose Riviero: First Spanish coach in South African football, who started his career working with the juniors at hometown club Celta Vigo but moved to Finland to work in senior football.