No love lost as Pirates, Galaxy clash
Ricardo Lourceno will be the centre of attraction when his former side, Orlando Pirates play against his current side, Jwaneng Galaxy on Valentine’s Day in CAF Confederations Cup tie.
Galaxy will play their home fixture at the National Stadium, looking to upset their more established counterparts, with Lourceno under the spotlight following his offseason switch.
Lourceno had shown great promise in the playmaking role and captained Pirates’ reserve side, but was released in July 2019 after failing to break into the first team.
He spent time with BidVest Wits’ development academy and in the Netherlands with PEC Zwolle before going to Pirates. Lourenco joined Jwaneng Galaxy on a free transfer in October 2020 and will take on his former teammates for the first time this weekend as Galaxy seek a historic berth in the tournament’s group stages.
Speaking to Mmegi Sport, Lourenco said his new side is aiming for Pirates’ scalp on home soil. He, however, admitted that it could be a strange feeling facing a team he had been with since he was a 20-year-old.
“My emotions are the same going into this game like any other game. Yes, it might be strange when being on the opposite side of the skull and bone salute for the first time. But it’s an important game and we are playing at home first, so we need to take advantage of the conditions we are familiar with,” he said.
The 25-year-old will go up against familiar faces including the young fullback Thabiso Montane, a player he captained at development level and skipper
Happy Jele, whom he trained alongside in the first team. Galaxy take on Pirates after going almost a year without playing competitive football domestically. Since March 2020, the Jwaneng-based side played just four matches, all in the CAF Champions League. The team beat Comoros’ USD Zilimadjou 5-1 on aggregate to advance to the first round of the competition where they were eliminated by South African champions, Mamelodi Sundowns by 5-1 over two legs.
Galaxy Stars face a Buccaneers’ side that has had a mixed run of form domestically, but are yet to lose or concede in the Confederations Cup. Lourenco said the weekend’s opponents’ run in continental competitions poses a threat to his side. He also bemoaned lack of domestic activity as he said it gives the visitors a slight advantage against his side.
“We haven’t really focussed on our opponents much in either of our CAF encounters. Our focus has been more within ourselves at what we need to do. In cup competitions, form does not count much and Pirates generally perform stronger on the continent and have more experience than us.
But it is a game of football and any team can win on the day. Lack of activity has been possibly the biggest obstacle we have had to overcome as a team and personally it has without a doubt affected performance levels.
Playing two games every six weeks brings no continuity and it makes it hard to maintain fitness levels. We are going into our fifth game of the season and they are going into the second half of theirs. So it’s been really tough on that front. But we are working hard and going to give it our best,” he said.
Kickoff is at 3pm and the return leg is on February 21 at the Orlando Stadium in South Africa.