Orlando Pirates' preparations for the new season in Spain has given a glimpse of what can be expected of the Soweto giants ahead of the upcoming campaign.
The Soweto giants’ preparations have included pre-season matches against renowned European clubs such as the Wayne Rooney-led Plymouth Argyle and seven-time Europa League champions Sevilla.
Pirates clinched a morale-boosting 2-2 draw against English Championship side Plymouth before stunning the La Liga outfit by 2-0.
Pirates face fellow Spanish side Granada at Banús Football Center in Marbella on Wednesday at 19:00 (SA time).
The Buccaneers will then wrap up their Spanish tour with a fixture against Al-Qatari giants Al Sadd on Friday.
Hollywoodbets Sports looks at FOUR interesting take aways from the Spanish pre-season tour so far.
Impressive squad depth
The upcoming season promises to be huge for Pirates as they will participate in five competitions.
On the domestic stage, the Buccaneers will push to lift the DStv Premiership, and Carling Knockout and defend the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup titles.
The Soweto giants also head back to the CAF Champions League hoping to do better than last season when they bombed out of the preliminary rounds.
Squad depth is going to be crucial for the club if they want to give a serious push on all fronts.
To prepare for that, the historic club has made some interesting additions to the team including a highly rated winger Gilberto, attacking midfielder Thuso Moleleki, midfielder Selaelo Rasebotja, versatile fullback Dimpho Madalane and Mohau Nkota who impressed for the DStv Diski Challenge side.
Most of these players got a run against Plymouth Argyle and Sevilla and haven’t really looked out of place.
The Buccaneers have also bolstered their goalkeeping department with Siyabonga Dladla from their feeder team Pele Pele FC and Bayanda Zulu signed from Pietermaritzburg-based Midlands Academy.
Riveiro has been able to change almost all his starting line-ups at half-time intervals and the replacements were still able to hold the rhythm and maintain the same intensity of the game.
Spoilt for choice at centre-back
If there’s one thing that this tour has shown is how well-stocked the Sea Robbers are at centre-back.
This has been exposed after coach Jose Riveiro travelled without one of his trusted soldiers in that area, Tapelo Xoki.
Xoki is still nursing an injury that even ruled him out for the Nedbank Cup final showdown against Sundowns.
During the tour, Riveiro used players such as the young and impressive Thabiso Sesane, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Olisa Ndah, and Sandile Mthethwa.
Most of these players have raised their hands for a starting berth. Coach Riveiro will definitely have a helluva headache when it comes to picking the right duo for the job.
☠️ ⏪️ 𝗬𝗔𝗗𝗛𝗖𝗧𝗔𝗠 ⏪️
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) July 16, 2024
🤝 #preseason friendly
📆 15 July 2024
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Karim Kimvuidi finally finds his feet
The Congolose-born star Kimvuidi was probably Pirates’ best player in the first half against Sevilla before being replaced by Kabelo Dlamini ahead of the second half.
After joining Pirates from Maritzburg United ahead of last season, Kimvuidi struggled to find his feet at the Soweto giants and didn’t enjoy a lot of game time, starting only seven matches in the league.
But if what we have seen during the Spanish tour is anything to go by, it looks like the 22-year-old will finally live up to expectations next season.
Against Sevilla, he was outstanding and was crucial in linking the play between the backline and attackers.
Gilberto, a precious find for Sea Robbers
The Angolan star player was brought on in the second half against Sevilla and he was impressive and fitted in like a glove in hand at Pirates.
His off-the-ball and on-the-ball work is amazing. Gilberto has excellent speed and is very creative, which is going to make him a tricky customer for opponents.
Gilberto is a great addition to Pirates’ already lethal attacking department that has the likes of Patrick Maswanganyi, Relebohile Mofokeng, Tshegofatso Mabasa, Evidence Makgopa, Zakhele Lepasa and Dlamini.
