NEDBANK CUP: ‘You don’t find yourself in four finals in a row because you have a good day’ – Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro thrilled by progress ahead of Sundowns showdown

The Buccaneers are wrapping up their preparations for what promises to be an epic showdown against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup.

The highly-anticipated climax to the domestic season will be hosted at the sold-out Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga on Saturday at 15:00.

What is remarkable is that this is the fourth final for Pirates under Riveiro’s tutelage after he arrived in the country about two years ago.

The Spanish-born mentor is yet to lose a final in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) having received back-to-back MTN8 gold medals and will be eager to defend the Nedbank Cup title this weekend.

“For me, it’s a clear symptom that things are going well at Pirates as a collective. You don’t find yourself in four finals in a row because you have a good day,” said Riveiro during a Nedbank Cup press conference in Johannesburg.

“Now we can discuss the difference between cups and the league. The (famous talk) is about consistency. Still, the team is showing that we have the capacity on the day to not only beat any team, is about overcoming obstacles during the process.

“The cups are very complicated because now we are talking about penalties, the extra time and many scenarios of this game.”

READ: CLASH OF THE TITANS: Mamelodi Sundowns captain Themba Zwane praises Tembisa ‘homeboy’ Patrick Maswanganyi ahead of Nedbank Cup showdown

Riveiro said through their constant appearances in cup finals the team is gaining valuable experience that will be key for the Sea Robbers’ pursuit of the DStv Premiership title.

“But the thing is getting maturity during this process. We are playing a decent amount of young players who have had this type of experience for the first time since the last season,” said the Spaniard.

“And they are growing within this game. We will certainly capitalise on that in the future consistently in every game.

“It’s not about me, it’s about our processes, commitments in these types of games or something else compared to the other games where we casually gave the results away,” he said.

This will be the second time Pirates and Sundowns meet in a final this season, with Riveiro’s men having reigned supreme in the MTN8 decider during the early stage of the campaign.

The Nedbank Cup presents an opportunity for both sides to complete the season with a domestic cup double as Masandawana also defended the league title for the seventh successive time.

The Rulani Mokwena-coached Sundowns also lifted the inaugural African Football League.