Morena Ramoreboli once guided then third-tier side Maluti FET to a famous 4-1 win over Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup, with his squad including Bucs’ current ace Thembinkosi Lorch.
Orlando Pirates’ ambitions to return to the top of African football will not be a smooth ride.
Pirates returned to the premium continental competition this season, the CAF Champions League, following a four-year absence.
The 1995 champions made light work of their preliminary round opponents Djabal Club d’Iconi in the first round, winning 4-0 on aggregate.
However, coach Jose Riveiro’s men will meet their biggest challenge yet in the second round of the qualifiers against Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana.
Given Pirates’ dominance in domestic football – which includes winning a cup double last season and reaching the MTN8 semi-final this season – they are favourites to reach the group stage.
☠️ 🌍 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 🌍
🏆 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL 2nd Preliminary Round
🛎 Leg 1 of 2
⚽️ @jwanenggalaxy vs @orlandopirates
📆 Today, 17 September 2023
🏟 Gaborone National Stadium 🇧🇼
🕒 15h00 SAST⚫⚪🔴⭐#Matchday#OrlandoPirates #OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/FsZxx7oZXy
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) September 17, 2023
But so often football has proven that it’s fickle at the top. Hence Pirates could be in for a surprise at the Botswana National Stadium in the first leg of the qualifiers this afternoon.
The Botswana top flight is yet to get under way, reportedly due to administrative issues, forcing Pirates to gather information about Galaxy from their 2-1 aggregate win over Vipers of Uganda in the first round.
On the other hand, Pirates’ footage from their domestic matches and preliminary qualifiers should be accessible to Galaxy who are led by South African coach Morena Ramoreboli.
Ramoreboli once guided then third-tier side Maluti FET to a famous 4-1 win over Pirates in the 2013 Nedbank Cup, with his squad consisting of Pirates’ current ace Thembinkosi Lorch.
He’s also worked with Kabelo Dlamini and Sipho Chaine at the club’s development structures, before coaching Monnapule Saleng in Bafana Bafana’s Cosafa Championships in 2021.
Given the vast knowledge that Ramoreboli holds about Pirates, he’s also picked the three attacking formations the visitors could use to hurt them.
“Planning for Pirates is something that anyone can do. It’s an advantage for me to know what to expect from Pirates. There are three types of Orlando Pirates,” Ramoreboli told the Sowetan.
“One, there’s Orlando Pirates with Lorch. Two Orlando Pirates with Maswanganyi and lastly Orlando Pirates with Dlamini.
“The one with Lorch has a lot of combination plays … a lot of rotations and a lot of entries into the box,” he explained further.
“The one with Maswanganyi is more of overloads and the one for Dlamini is the one that plays directly and into half spaces.”
But while Ramoreboli has clearly done his homework on Pirates, expects the Buccaneers – albeit with minimal information – to have also done theirs on the Botswanans.
In the midst of wanting to win the match and take a huge advantage going into the return leg on September 29, Pirates are well aware of the danger Galaxy can pose.
In 2010, Galaxy, then known as Gaborone United, knocked Pirates out of the competition at the same stage on away goals after the second leg ended 2-2 in Gqeberha.
Pirates got their vengeance thereafter, winning the Confederation Cup play-off tie 4-0 on aggregate in 2021 en route to finishing as finalists.
@Mihlalibaleka
