Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has opened up on how certain comments when he arrived in the country as an unknown, particularly from journalists, made him feel.
There was little optimism when Pirates announced Riveiro as their new head coach in the pre-season and the Spanish coach was also not popular on social media after he was called names such as "plumber".
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Riveiro says he did not think much about what people were saying about him and that he did not expect them to be excited about him being the new coach as he was unknown to them.
"I don't spend so much time thinking about what people I don't know are thinking about me. I'm not going to put my happiness or my mood or my day in the hands of people that I don't know. They don't know me," Riveiro said in an interview on Marawa Sports Worldwide, following their Nedbank Cup triumph.
"So, they just made statements just before I put one foot here in this beautiful country. But they have the right to do it. I explained many times that it's normal that people did not get excited when they read or listen to my name as the new head coach of Orlando Pirates," he said.
Riveiro, who is a former journalist himself, carried on and questioned the role of journalists in circulating utterances that undermine the coach and said he was "surprised" to hear such comments in South Africa.
"But the responsibility of being a journalist you are creating opinions around people, so it's a huge responsibility to be serious on that," the Spanish coach said.
"Imagine coaches working in South Africa going to Europe and the perception is in the same way, what are we going to think immediately about those comments, the meaning of those comments?
"So, we have to be careful with those labels and it was surprising for me when I arrived in a country like this, with the history. It's one of the things that surprised me the most," he added.
Riveiro silenced his critics after delivering two trophies, the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup and qualified Pirates to the CAF Champions League after finishing as runners-up in the DStv Premiership standings.
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