Jose Riveiro: I started from the very bottom…

The Spanish mentor took charge of his final game on Tuesday night, a rampant 3-0 Betway Premiership win over Golden Arrows at the Orlando Stadium to bid an emotional farewell to players, staff and club supporters.

Riveiro is reportedly joining Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup next month in the USA, although he would not confirm this as his next destination after the match.

What Riveiro did discuss was his trajectory from being a low level coach to being hired by Pirates and now possibly Ahly.

"I'm not perfect, I'm not an angel. I'm calm and composed and I try to be as reasonable as possible and reflexive as possible and like everybody else, I have my short cuts and my moments where I'm not doing the right things but I'm the person that I am because like you guys like everybody else, I'm an accumulation of experiences during my whole life,” Riveiro said.

“I had a curious life in many ways, let's put it that way. I'm not gonna talk about that right now, but I can tell you that I'm here where I am, I'm not a former football player, I'm coming from the very bottom, and when I tell you the very, very, bottom is the very, very bottom.

“I started coaching in the lowest division in my country, the lowest until I'm sitting here. So, during that process, I have to do a lot of things to manage, to be at the level that I am right now."

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The 47-year-old leaves Pirates having won an impressive five domestic trophies during his three seasons with the club.

He said this was due to hard work, not favours.

"That process humbles you and teaches you how difficult it is to achieve things in life when you start from the bottom. So, if you are thankful, if you appreciate all of those things, then you can manage to be the way I am,” he added.

“The personality that I have and if I do a relation about my personality and football and not my personality and my personal life, I think it's related to the fact that I'm coming from the very bottom and I'm here because I'm working for it. I'm not here because I got a lottery."