Egyptian giants Al Ahly have announced the appointment of former Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro as their new head coach.
The Spanish tactician, who recently parted ways with Pirates, takes the helm at the “Club of the Century” as they prepare for the FIFA Club World Cup in June.
Riveiro’s arrival in Cairo on Thursday had been widely anticipated since his early release from Pirates on Monday, May 12, granted to allow him to “join a new club.” His final game with the Buccaneers was the 3-0 victory over Golden Arrows on Tuesday, May 13, at Orlando Stadium.
During his three-year tenure at Bucs, Riveiro won five domestic cup trophies, including three successive MTN8 titles and two consecutive Nedbank Cups. Under his leadership, the Soweto giants also steadily closed the gap on Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premiership, emerging as title contenders.
In addition, Riveiro steered Pirates to their first CAF Champions League semi-final since 2013 in the 2024/25 season. They navigated their group stage unbeaten with 14 points, surpassing even Al Ahly, who finished second with nine. He replaces Swiss coach Marcel Koller, who was shown the exit door at the Cairo giants.
It seems Al Ahly, who clinched their record 45th Egyptian Premier League title on Wednesday, chose to delay the announcement of Riveiro until after their league triumph.
JOSE RIVEIRO SIGNS TWO-YEAR CONTRACT AS AL AHLY COACH
“Mohamed Youssef, the club’s sporting director, announced the club’s signing of Spanish coach José Riveiro as head coach of the first football team for two years,” reads the translated Al Ahly statement.
“Club president Mahmoud El Khatib met with the new technical staff. During the meeting, they agreed on working mechanisms for the next phase, defined responsibilities, and emphasised full cooperation among all staff members to serve the team’s interests.”
Riveiro’s technical team includes former Pirates assistant Carlos Nodar, Miguel Pepeira [physical trainer], Juan José [goalkeeper coach], and Sebastian Podsiadly [performance analyst].
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