Adaptation at his new club Al Ahly has not been easy for former Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro, he said after losing at the Club World Cup on Thursday and on the verge of elimination.
The Egyptian giants, one of four African sides competing at the new-look 32-team tournament, lost 2-0 to Palmeiras of Brazil at East Rutherford, just outside New York at the stadium which will host next year’s World Cup final.
It left Al Ahly bottom of the table along with FC Porto with a single point and needing to beat the Portuguese side in their last game on Monday.
“The adaptation is never easy, like I said before that we started the competition,” said Riveiro of his brief time in charge of Al Ahly in an interview with SuperSport.com.
He only took over weeks before the tournament kicked off after leaving the Buccaneers a handful of matches from the end of the Betway Premiership season.
“It's an unusual situation to start a new project and then, in a short space of time, compete at the maximum level and against very, very tough opponents and with high expectations as well about the tournament.
“So we're trying to help the players as much as we can, not doing a big, big transformation. There's no time to do it. So, we're just trying to prepare the games as good as we can, and to be close.”
Riveiro was honest in an assessment of his team’s form at the tournament in the US
“So far, we managed, I think, to be close only for 45 minutes. It was the same few days ago in Miami, pretty much like today,” he added after Thursday’s loss.
“And that is not enough to win games in this competition. We came close to losing against Miami in the second half and today Palmeiras didn't forgive us.
“The moment that you drop a little bit your level again st this level of opponents, you pay a price,” Riveiro added.
But he said competing at the Club World Cup was a special experience.
“The players have the opportunity to showcase their talent and a fantastic platform to do it. The motivation is there and everybody wants to play an important role, but it is more personally for me as a coach like an opportunity to know my team better than before, and like I said, adaptation for me to the level of the game, to the players that I have in my hands right now, an adaptation for them also to understand what the coaching staff is looking for, the thing that we're going to be in the future, in our near future.
“It’s a special occasion for sure something that, well, you don't always have the opportunity to be around, to be involved in, so, yeah, I’m trying to learn as much as I can,” he added.