Former Orlando Pirates captain Innocent Maela believes Jose Riveiro left the Sea Robbers at exactly the right time.
The left-back also left Pirates at the end of a successful 2024-2025 campaign.
Maela believes coach Jose Riveiro achieved all that he could with the Buccaneers.
Pirates players propel Bafana to the World Cup
Maela makes Orlando Pirates relegation claim
Innocent Maela has called time on his career and come out with a big claim about ex-Bucs boss Jose Riveiro on the same day.
Via Goal:
“His energy – you could see that he was tired. For me personally, if he continued, I think the club would have gone down (the table) instead of going up,” Maela told Lemii LoCo on the Sports YouTube Channel.
“You could just tell he was really tired. I don’t think his staying would have been good for the team, in my opinion, because I worked with him and saw him every day.”
“He needed to stay away. It was beginning to be too much. I know people are saying, ‘Give him two more years,’ but I don’t think he had it in him, because the coach demands a lot. It’s not easy.”
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Maela rates Riveiro as one of the Orlando Pirates GOATs
33-year-old Maela believes Jose Riveiro is one of the greatest tacticians to have ever presided over Pirates.
“I think he was tired; he felt like he had done enough for the club. He works hard, very hard. I was the captain; I was close to him. He felt like he needed a new challenge somewhere else,” he added.
“He felt like he had already exhausted all his energy in the team; I mean, he succeeded. Let’s give it to him; I think he’s one of the best coaches in the history of Orlando Pirates. He just left; we still love him wherever he is,” the ex-Pirates skipper added.
Orlando Pirates stars feature prominently for Bafana
Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa scored as South Africa beat Rwanda to claim a place at the World Cup 2026. Pirates duo Sipho Chaine and Tshepang Moremi didn’t feature off the bench in the 3-0 win. That result, coupled with a 4-0 win for Nigeria over Benin, sealed the deal for Hugo Broos’ men. Former Napoli marksman Osimhen, who won the Capocannoniere award in Serie A in 2024, is now with Galatasaray and bagged a crucial hat-trick for the Super Eagles. Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka grabbed the other goal.
This will be South Africa’s first appearance at a World Cup finals since 2010.