Pressure a ‘privilege’ for Chiefs coach
COACH Arthur Zwane is confident about the future after Kaizer Chiefs’ win over arch rivals Orlando Pirates, while his counterpart Jose Riveiro is searching for answers.
Chiefs and Pirates were like chalk and cheese before the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday with the former stuttering and the Sea Robbers cruising.
Amakhosi were on a three-match winless run, having also crashed out in the MTN8 semi-finals, compared to Pirates who reached the final.
The Buccaneers were so easy on the eye when they beat Mamelodi Sundowns in their MTN8 semi-final that they were tipped as potential Premiership title contenders.
But indeed, the old saying that “form counts for nothing in the derby” came into play at a sold-out FNB Stadium as Amakhosi were victorious in the end.
Yusuf Maart scored Chiefs’ winner in style, but having had more shots on target, perhaps they deserved more than just the one goal on the day.
Nonetheless, Zwane was still happy with the win and was confident that they would finally get their combinations right after a slow start to the season.
“As a club, we have a plan. We know that it will take some time to be where we want to be,” said Zwane, who dismissed speculation of him of being sacked if they lost on Saturday.
“We’ll continue to grind and work hard. I came into this match not even worried about my job. I wanted to help the players deal with the pressure.
“For me, pressure is a privilege. If it wasn’t a privilege, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. There are a lot of people and coaches that want my position.”
Indeed, Zwane thrived under pressure to guide his team to his first derby win as a coach, while he has yet to lose a derby after playing for both teams.
But it wasn’t first-time lucky for Riveiro, who said the game was boring, before admitting that he would have to do a post-mortem on why Pirates lost.
“We need to analyse why it (the game plan) didn’t work. That’s my responsibility, that’s my job, and we need to learn from this defeat,” Riveiro said.
“There’s not only one reason why you lose a game, there are always a lot of different reasons, and there are also some things that we cannot control.”
Chiefs will enjoy a short break before they are back in action in the Carling Black Label Cup on November 12 at FNB Stadium.
For Pirates, though, it’s back to the drawing board ahead of the MTN8 final against AmaZulu at a sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Pirates will aim to win the competition as it will ease pressure on Riveiro, who has been tasked with awakening a sleeping giant.
Miguel Timm is set to return in midfield after he was suspended against Chiefs, although the Buccaneers’ coach didn’t think the player’s absence was a factor for their derby loss.
“We didn’t miss anyone today. We missed ourselves and the rhythm that we are used to playing at the beginning of the game,” Riveiro said.