Whatever happens for the rest of the season, Jose Riveiro will exit the Orlando Pirates head coach job having restored this historic club back to a place of satisfaction.
So, reaching the semifinals of the CAF Champions League – which equals to being the top four clubs on the continent this season – is already an achievement for Pirates, who were last here a dozen years ago.
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The plus is that this happens with five trophies already in the bag and another cup final, in the Nedbank Cup, booked since Riveiro took over.
In matters relating to the Champions League, Pirates are the only club still unbeaten in the competition and will play against Pyramids FC on Friday needing either a win or scoring draw to reach their seventh final under the Spaniard.
"We’ve challenged ourselves to do it better than last season when we couldn’t even manage to qualify for the group stages," says Riveiro.
"I think this time we were really committed in this competition, and we managed to deliver good performances since day one without hesitation.
"We went to the group stages with the desire to prove as a young team without experience in the competition like we are.
"We are adding new chapters in our story in this competition, a beautiful story so far.
"We are trying to take every game as a big opportunity and do something special in the Champions League and so far, we have managed to do it.
"Our campaign in the Champions League is something to remark and we want to continue our journey.
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"We don’t want by any means that our competition finishes tomorrow (today), so we know it will be a tough game away from home one more time.
"There is no secret but proper mentality, excellent players in our squad and the confidence to know that we are capable to do it one more time," he adds.
