Spaniard José Riveiro has been appointed coach of South African side Orlando Pirates on a three-year deal.
The 46-year-old gaffer succeeds Josef Zinnbauer, who quit in August last year because of exhaustion after 19 months at the helm.
Cheifs said Riveiro will replace caretaker coach Mandla Ncikazi once a work permit has been granted.
Riveiro’s last job was coach of Finnish top flight side FC Inter, a club that he helped qualify to a European competition after six years.
“First of all, I would like to send a greeting to all the fans of Orlando Pirates,” Riveiro told the Pirates website.
“I am delighted to have joined the club. The Pirates project is an exciting one and I look forward to what lies ahead. It is an honour for me and my colleagues to have the responsibility to coach such an institution and compete for the highest goals.”
The new gaffer will be assisted by Sergio Almenara and Mandla Ncikazi, with Miguel Bellver Esteve as Fitness Trainer and Tyron Damons as Goalkeeper Coach.
“Along with my support team, we are looking forward to arriving and joining the task force and the group of players to start working immediately,” he added.
“We are going to work to make history together and build a team that we are all proud of.”
Riveiro once worked as an assistant coach at Honka in the Finnish Premier League, as well as at PK-35 Vantaa and HJK Helsinki (where he did win two Premier League titles), before he landed his first head coach role in 2018 with Inter Turku.
He guided Inter to second in the Finnish Premier League two seasons in a row, but finished eighth in his third season, and was replaced for the 2022 campaign.
