While some might have felt disappointed after Orlando Pirates' 0-0 draw in the CAF Champions League on the weekend, a legend has offered encouragement to the team ahead of the next match.
The Buccaneers drew 0-0 with Disciples of Madagascar in the opening leg of their first preliminary round match at Côte d'Or National Sports Complex in Saint Pierre on Sunday.
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While some compared Bucs' performance and result to that of the previous edition in the competition against Botswana's Jwaneng Galaxy which led to the Soweto giants' early elimination, former striker James Mothibi is confident in coach Jose Riveiro's team's chances for progressing.
"From experience, I think everyone knows how we (South African clubs) usually get treated when play out of the country in these CAF matches, whether it is the Champions League or Confederation Cup. So, I say people shouldn't be surprised by the score. One can only be surprised if he or she has never played in these kinds of competitions and probably doesn't understand what usually happens there. People who are criticising Pirates for playing 0-0 are probably from a point of not understanding these kinds of competitions and matches. But if you understand how we usually get treated out of the country, you will have an idea of why the result was probably like that," said Mothibi, speaking exclusively to the Siya crew.
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"For example, when we played in Nigeria when I was still with Pirates, we took our legend Williams Okpara with us to go there. As he is from Nigeria, he knows the ins and outs of the country. By taking him along, we knew that we were kind of safe, because they couldn't mistreat one of their own. Coming to yesterday's match, Pirates have coaches who are professional, and I can assure you now that they won't say a word when it comes to complaining and all those things. It won't happen, and all they did was to take the 0-0 draw and come back home to prepare for the second leg. That team (Disciples) is not going to win here. I can put my head on the block about that, they are not going to win. I played in the Champions League, and I know what goes into preparing for these kinds of matches," concluded Mothibi.
A very underwhelming performance yesterday from the boys in Mauritius, but we can just make it right on Friday at Orlando for the return leg.You need to be ruthless against smaller teams but hey... This is football. Let's support them. Always.#OnceAlways #OrlandoPirates… pic.twitter.com/5m6KnrAsWx
— Joseph Bertrand (@JoBertrand19) August 19, 2024
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