In departing Orlando Pirates earlier than planned, after Tuesday’s Betway Premiership clash at home to Lamontville Golden Arrows, Jose Riveiro will not equal Ruud Krol as the longest serving coach at the club.
But the 47-year-old Spaniard will finish with more games in charge than his Dutch counterpart, who was at Pirates for three full seasons from 2008 to 2011.
Riveiro departs the club after the match against Arrows, leaving assistant Mandla Ncikazi to complete the season with four league matches to take charge of.
Riveiro had asked Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza to be allowed to leave early to join his new club, without revealing the identity.
It has been widely reported, but not verified officially that Riveiro is headed to Egyptian giants Al Ahly and will get to coach in next month’s Club World Cup.
Pirates thanked him on Tuesday as they sent out a tweet of appreciation for his time at the club, which saw Bucs win five knockout trophies but finish only as a runner-up to Mamelodi Sundowns in the league.
⚫⚪ 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒔, 𝑱𝒐𝒔é ☠️
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) May 13, 2025
Thank you for the memories🫡
Wishing you nothing but success in your next chapter.
⚫⚪🔴⭐#JoséRiveiro#OrlandoPirates#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/XaB9atfKi5
Riveiro’s biggest achievement, however, was taking Pirates to the Champions League semifinal where they narrowly lost to Pyramids of Egypt,
Tuesday’s clash at the Orlando Stadium against Arrows (live on SuperSport at 7:30pm) will be the 132nd of Riveiro’s reign after arriving to replace the duo of Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids.
He won 79, drew 26 and lost 126 of his matches in charge, including last Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final to archrivals Kaizer Chiefs.
This season alone, Pirates have played 47 matches already and will finish the season with a total of 52 because of their progress to the last four of the Champions League.
Krol spent three full seasons as Pirates coach, the first man to do so in the long history of the club, but his tally of games over the three seasons was 119.
He won 60 of them, drew 38 and lost 21.
The former Dutch World Cup captain took Pirates to the triple of the league, Nedbank Cup and MTN8 in his last season in 2011 but surprisingly did not have his contract renewed thereafter.