Pitso Mosimane, who is currently coaching at Al Ahli Saudi, is known for being just more than a coach to his players.
He assumes a father figure role, which draws him close to his players. That helps with building strong relationships, which in turn see the players performing above themselves for him on the field of play.
Orlando Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro seems to have taken a leaf from Mosimane’s book, by building strong relationships with his players, and the results are showing.
Orlando Pirates have already won the MTN8, they look good for the Nedbank Cup, and a second spot finish in the league.
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What players have said about Pitso Mosimane:
“Obviously I have worked under Pitso before and I know him. He is a father figure to me,” said Steven Pienaar in 2016 when asked if he would consider joining Downs.
“It was disturbing to see the coach leave … personally a very sad moment,” said Simphiwe Tshabalala after Mosimane was sacked as Bafana coach.
“I worked with him for six years and he played a role of a father figure to me. I will always be grateful for that. He was the best.”
“Pitso taught me that you take care of the person first, before the tactics,” former Supersport United defender, Ricardo Katza once told Farpost in an interview.
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What Thabang Monare said about Jose Riveiro:
“He [Riveiro] understands us as individuals. He knows how to speak to individuals in certain ways. That’s the trick he brings to the team. He’s a good human being before being a good coach. He has a way of approaching individuals in a different way, understanding that we are different people from different backgrounds.”
Monare on Jose’s coaching:
“He makes us see football in a more easy way. He makes us work on tasks whereby it’s like a puzzle…we are pieces of a puzzle and when those pieces are complete we become a bigger picture. He has a way of doing that, where midfielders must do this, the defenders do this, the goalkeepers do this and the strikers as well…so it’s like pieces of a puzzle and when they come together they complete the picture.”
It seems like Riveiro has managed to succeed where most coaches fail at big clubs, and that is building a strong rapport with the club’s most important stakeholders, the players.
On its own, that is fertile ground for building a successful team, and Riveiro can go on, if things go well, to emulate Pitso Mosimane’s success at Sundowns.
