There is undoubtedly something that has changed at Orlando Pirates since Jose Riveiro took over two-and-half seasons ago, and former club captain Happy Jele has revealed the secret.
Under Riveiro, the Sea Robbers won back-to-back MTN8 and Nedbank Cup doubles in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns.
The Soweto giants have kept on winning after bagging their fifth trophy under the Spanish coach after becoming the first team to win the MTN8 for three consecutive seasons.
The current Pirates team is slowly starting to be compared to the class that won the double treble in 2010/11 and 2011/12 campaigns, especially after their perfect start in the Premiership, where they are top of the standings after seven games.
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Jele, who was part of both the squads that won the historic double treble, has revealed what the the current players under Riveiro have that is similar to the double treble team.
"The most important thing is to respect each other, have unity and love each other. We used to do team building [exercises] even if the coach is not there, we create a team building among ourselves and say 'Let's go chill at [Happy's place for example]'," Jele said in a sit down interview with Smash Sports published on their YouTube Channel.
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"The most important thing is the brotherhood because the more I spend time with you, the more I know you and I know what you're going through. I'll cover you. The unity was there, we would back each other [in double treble era].
"The synergy now is brilliant at Pirates, I see them spending time together most of them. It reminds me of the treble teams," 'Magents' revealed.
Riveiro celebrated 100 matches at the Soweto giants in the club's 1-0 win over Richards Bay prior to the FIFA break, becoming only the second coach to reach the milestone at the club, 19 games short of record holder Ruud Krol, in the PSL era.
