Orlando Pirates 2024/25 season review: From hope of a quadruple to the disappointment of Jose Riveiro abandoning ship

Pirates gave a good account of themselves in the league after pushing Mamelodi Sundowns in the title race until the last few months of the season.

However, the tide started to turn around the beginning of the year as The Bucs started dropping points, culminating in a devastating 4-1 loss to title rivals Sundowns in early February.

In March it was more of the same with a 2-0 loss to Gallants and 0-0 draw with a 10-men Stellenbosch taking the gloss off beating Sundowns 2-1 at the Orlando stadium.

Then in early April the club announced that beloved coach Jose Riveiro was leaving at the end of the season. It was meant to inspire the squad to give him the best trophy-laden send off they could, but it had the opposite effect.

The result that killed any lingering league title ambitions came days after their Caf Champions League semi final exit when they lost 1-0 to Sekhukhune and turned the two-horse title race with Sundowns into The Brazilians cantering to the title solo.

Pirates finished the season with 61 points from 28 matches while champions Sundowns collected 73 points, winning the league with a 12-point gap.

This was the third season in a row that saw the Irvin Khoza-owned team finish second on the log but the closest they had come to upsetting the Sundowns title juggernaut.

The Houghton-based outfit started the season on a high after winning the first silverware of the campaign, the MTN8 Cup. Pirates defeated Stellenbosch FC 3-1 in the final at Moses Mabhida Stadium to win the top eight trophy for the third successive season. After the MTN8 glory, Orlando Pirates fell short in the Carling Knockout Cup, Nedbank Cup, and the CAF Champions League.

In the Carling Cup, Bucs crashed out of the very first round of the competition after suffering an embarrassing 3-2 defeat against Magesi FC at Orlando Stadium.

In the Nedbank Cup they made it all the way to the final, only to lose to Kaizer Chiefs, who won the tie 2-1 to end their 10-year trophy drought.

But the one that hurt the most was their semi-final loss in the Caf Champions League to Egyptian side Pyramids FC. After drawing 0-0 in the first leg at Orlando Stadium there was confidence around the team that they would be able to get the job done in Cairo and set up an all South African final against Sundowns. Their inability to deal with the Egyptian's crossing abilities saw them throw away a 2-1 lead and lose 3-2. Dreams of a second star were over.

Ezimnyama Ngenkani made all their transfer business in the off-season, signing players such as Deano Van Rooyen, Selaelo Rasebotja, Thuso Moleleki, and Gilberto.

Van Rooyen, who was snapped up from Stellenbosch, has made a meaningful impact after making 38 appearances across all competitions at the right-back position.

The 28-year-old defender managed to hold a regular starting berth at Pirates ahead of Bandile Shandu, Thabiso Monyane, and Thabiso Lebitso.

Meanwhile, Gilberto was a flop signing after he was sent back to his former club, Petro de Luanda, during the 2025 January transfer window. The Angolan international spent six months in the colours of Pirates before going out on loan.

Surprisingly, the team didn't make any new signings during the 2025 January transfer window to beef up their squad to have a realistic chance of challenging the dominant Mamelodi Sundowns.

Perhaps they were confident in the academy products they could integrate into the first team, like 19-year-old Mbekezeli Mbokazi who stepped into central defence and performed like a future star-in-the-making.

Having joined Pirates in July 2022, Jose Riveiro turned the side into one of the most competitive teams on the African continent. Riveiro's biggest influence was promoting young talent from the club’s development ranks.

The Spanish tactician promoted youngsters such as Mohau Nkota, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, and Simphiwe Selepe. The trio have made it to the Bafana Bafana squad that will face Tanzania and Mozambique in the international friendlies in the next two weeks.

After making his mark at Pirates with five domestic trophies under his name, Riveiro announced in early April he was stepping down from his coaching job at Pirates.

At the time it was thought the decision hinged on Riveiro's belief that no coach should stay at a team longer than three years. Then, once the league title race was run he requested an early release from his contract so he could negotiate his new job at Egyptian giants Al Ahly.

This left Mandla Ncikazi carrying the coaching can for the last four games of the season where The Bucs limped to a P4 W1 D3 record to reach their record points haul of 61 in the PSL.

In the last season, a handful of Pirates players emerged as top performers, however, Relebohile Mofokeng, Makhehlene Makhaula, and Sipho Chaine stood out from the rest.

The talented winger, Mofokeng, has been the heartbeat of the Pirates' attack with his ability to score and create goals. ‘President Yama 2K’ as he is famously known, has featured in 49 matches in all competitions, scored 12 goals, and chipped in with 15 assists.

Meanwhile, Chaine and Makhaula have featured in 47 and 41 matches respectively. The two key players formed a big part of the Soweto club, fighting for all major trophies.

With that being said, Mofokeng is the best player for Pirates in the previous season after his influential performances, scoring in big matches like the Soweto derby and Caf Champions League semi-final against Pyramids FC.

He has cemented his place as Pirates 'main man' but the club will be hopeful of hanging on to their academy graduate for one more season as European clubs are starting to circle, with rumours of Barcelona being interested in the 20-year-old setting the internet alight just before the mid-season transfer window.

Following the departure of Riveiro, Pirates will have to search for a high-performance coach to push them even further towards their domestic and continental ambitions.

Under the guidance of the 49-year-old Spaniard, the Ghosts established themselves as cup kings of South African football after winning three successive MTN8 titles and two Nedbank Cup trophies, but were always the bridesmaids to Sundowns in the league.

Pirates have been linked with Pitso Mosimane and Rhulani Mokwena, who are exactly the type of coaches who could take the club to the next level and challenge for the league with their experience and modern tactical approaches.

Moreover, the Premiership runner-ups will also need marquee signings such as Fawaaz Basadien, Fiston Mayele, Keletso Makgalwa, and Oswin Appollis to improve their squad quality and depth to help them challenge for both the Caf Champions League and the PSL title the club craves.