While Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has long wiped off all the doubts that greeted his appointment three years ago, he has also made good of his time in the Soweto Derby.
The biggest fixture on the domestic calendar normally defines how much both players and coaches endear themselves to fans at Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
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Through delivering trophies at the club, Riveiro has also given The Ghost all the bragging rights that come with succeeding in the derby.
The Spaniard has now won five matches in this fixture, putting him in the same ranks as Stuart Baxter.
He has needed just seven games in the derby to get his five, while Baxter had 11 matches plus two spells at Amakhosi to do the same.
What makes it even better for Riveiro is that he is now the only coach to ever win five in a row in this fixture.
The soft-spoken gaffer lost his first two but has since been on the winning side in this fixture since Sandile Mthethwa delivered an extra-time winner in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals two years ago as Pirates ran out 2-1 victors.
Evidence Makgopa delivered the solitary goal in November 2023, before the next ended in a 3-2 win for Bucs.
The fourth win came via Patrick Maswanganyi’s late winner from the spot in February.
Then the fifth win was the 2-1 win on Saturday.
No coach from both clubs has done five wins in a row like Riveiro since Pirates won the first PSL era meeting 4-1 in the Bob Save Super Bowl in November 1996.
This is now the first time that Pirates have won five in a row against their closest rivals.
On their part, the Glamour Boys have won on five consecutive occasions before, though worth noting is that it wasn’t under the same coach with Gavin Hunt, Baxter, and Arthur Zwane all involved as head coaches.
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They won all five derbies played from March 2021 to February 2023, making it the first time that one of the two giants had recorded five consecutive victories in this fixture.
Riveiro has one more derby to play on Saturday in the Nedbank Cup final.
