{"id":26843,"date":"2025-09-03T10:02:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T08:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=26843"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:55:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:55:05","slug":"forlando-pirates-fans-say-we-told-you-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/forlando-pirates-fans-say-we-told-you-so\/","title":{"rendered":"From Buccaneer Hero to Cairo Casualty \u2014 Orlando Pirates Fans Say \u2018We Told You So\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The words <em>\u201cYena a ya kwini!\u201d,<\/em> loosely translated as <em>\u201cWhere to now?\u201d,<\/em> have echoed across Orlando Pirates\u2019 fan circles following the shock dismissal of their former coach Jos\u00e9 Riveiro by Egyptian giants Al Ahly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many Buccaneers supporters can\u2019t help but feel vindicated. After all, Pirates had tabled a contract extension and expressed their faith in Riveiro. But the Spaniard\u2019s eyes were set on Africa\u2019s most decorated club and the lure of the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The gamble, however, backfired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ambition-meets-reality\">Ambition Meets Reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For Riveiro, joining Al Ahly wasn\u2019t a mistake in principle. The real miscalculation was the timing. Ahly came calling just before the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, a competition every coach dreams of experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eager for the spotlight, Riveiro pushed for an early release from Pirates midway through the season. Chairman Irvin Khoza eventually agreed, allowing him to chase the big stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But while Riveiro may have viewed the Club World Cup as a bonus warm-up, Al Ahly\u2019s fanbase saw it as a matter of pride. Expectations were sky-high, regardless of the draw against Porto, Palmeiras, and hosts Inter Miami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"JOSE RIVEIRO SACKED BY AL AHLY! IT&#039;S OVER\" width=\"755\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_xzdleqK1tM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also read:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/jose-riveiro-to-become-africas-highest-paid-coach-with-al-ahly-move\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jose Riveiro to Become Africa\u2019s Highest-Paid Coach with Al Ahly Move<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3792783708\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-winless-start-in-the-us\">A Winless Start in the US<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Al Ahly\u2019s campaign in the States was brutal. Riveiro\u2019s side drew with Porto and Inter Miami and lost to Palmeiras. While hardly embarrassing results, the lack of victories was enough to unsettle the Red Devils\u2019 faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back home, pressure mounted quickly. Riveiro\u2019s Egyptian adventure began with just one win, two draws, and a 2-0 defeat to Pyramids FC. That loss proved to be the final straw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Would he really have been sacked after just four domestic matches if not for the Club World Cup disappointment? Probably not. But at Al Ahly, excuses don\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Full time. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VBYbclH4dw\">pic.twitter.com\/VBYbclH4dw<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Al Ahly SC \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@AlAhlyEnglish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlAhlyEnglish\/status\/1961881563949326637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 30, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-harsh-reality-of-ahly-culture\">The Harsh Reality of Ahly Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This episode highlights the cultural gulf between South African and Egyptian football. At Pirates, Riveiro was loved for cup successes, tactical discipline, and even famously knocking Al Ahly out of the CAF Champions League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in Cairo, the bar is higher. Every coach is under the microscope. Club legends openly questioned his credentials from the day he signed. And truth be told, they had ammunition: Riveiro never delivered the Betway Premiership title, the truest measure of consistency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kinda feel sad for Jose Riveiro at Al Ahy but he also left us high and dry and rushed to join them so it&#39;s probably karma, you don&#39;t do that to the mighty Orlando Pirates. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5QRPqRjkr9\">pic.twitter.com\/5QRPqRjkr9<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Owaselangeni (@Owaselangenii) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Owaselangenii\/status\/1962040230262849702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">August 31, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-92072112\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-career-dent-not-the-end\">A Career Dent, Not the End<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the sting of an early dismissal, Riveiro leaves Egypt with more than just scars. He adds Al Ahly to his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and can say hestood,d however briefly on the FIFA Club World Cup stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In cold numbers: four domestic games, one win, two draws, one defeat. Hardly catastrophic, but not enough to satisfy a club obsessed with dominance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Pirates fans, the refrain <em>\u201cYena a ya kwini!\u201d<\/em> is laced with irony. They had warned that ambition can sometimes overreach. Yet for Riveiro, this is unlikely to be the end. Expect his name to resurface soon whether in North Africa, Europe, or another ambitious project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because one thing is certain: <a href=\"https:\/\/iol.co.za\/sport\/opinion\/2025-09-03-yena-a-ya-kwini--riveiros-al-ahly-adventure-cut-short\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jos\u00e9 Riveiro <\/a>remains a coach in demand, still ambitious, and still very much part of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/al-ahly-show-former-pirates-coach-jose-riveiro-the-door-after-shocking-defeat\/\">Al Ahly Show Former Pirates Coach Jose Riveiro the Door After Shocking Defeat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The words \u201cYena a ya kwini!\u201d, loosely translated as \u201cWhere to now?\u201d, have echoed across Orlando Pirates\u2019 fan circles following the shock dismissal of their former coach Jos\u00e9 Riveiro by Egyptian giants Al Ahly. Many Buccaneers supporters can\u2019t help but feel vindicated. After all, Pirates had tabled a contract extension and expressed their faith in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":26847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"The words \u201cYena a ya kwini!\u201d, loosely translated as \u201cWhere to now?\u201d, have echoed across Orlando Pirates\u2019 fan circles following the shock dismissal of their...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[11118,11108,273],"class_list":{"0":"post-26843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-latest-football-news","10":"tag-latest-sports-news","11":"tag-orlando-pirates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26843"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26856,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26843\/revisions\/26856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}