Orlando Pirates News: Evidence Makgopa’s Relationship with Riveiro
Speaking from Ivory Coast, Orlando Pirates’ lanky striker Evidence Makgopa says he has a good relationship with his coach Jose Riveiro.
The Buccaneers star striker says he enjoys working with the Spaniard at Pirates, while also revealing his game has developed under the reigning MTN8 winning coach.
Despite becoming an easy target for critics and boo-boys, Makgopa continues to grow as a footballer and he showed his quality at the biennial AFCON tournament where he represents Bafana Bafana.
For Bafana, the former Baroka striker netted a crucial goal as they beat Morocco 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the premier African showpiece.
Coming back to club football, Makgopa says he has to be versatile and impress Riveiro amidst criticism from the Ghost family.
The Limpopo-born Pirates target man has five goals across all competitions under Riveiro so far and looks at the coach’s impact in his game.
“Jose is a very good coach, very good,”Makgopa toldiDiski Times.
“He’s humble, kind, and I think I’ve learned a lot but there’s much I can still learn.
“He’s had a huge impact, so yeah, I can’t say much but he’s improved me tactically.
“You know I had many coaches at Baroka but this one he’s got a different dimension. As a player, you have to be more versatile.”
In addition, the 23-year-old Nedbank Cup and Wafa Wafa winner with Orlando Pirates explains what separates Riveiro from other coaches.
“If a new coach comes and says ‘I want you to play like this as a striker’, at the end of the day you need to adjust to fit into his books because you can’t say ‘I’m this type of striker’,” he added.
“You might not end up playing. You have to adjust to coaches.”
Taking a glance at AFCON-related stories, Makgopa recently hit back at his naysayers, saying he can’t force everyone to love him.
“I think you cannot force someone to love you and you cannot force someone to support you,” said the Pirates and Bafana hitman.
“For me, I think I just have to take it as it is and move forward and play football.
“I have a coach (Hugo Broos) that believes in me. When the coach called me, people were already questioning why (he chose) this player?
“For the fact that the coach called me, I’m here to do the job, I’m here to play and I’m going to play my heart out for him.”
Meanwhile, Makgopa is expected to start for Bafana in the third-place play-off AFCON match versus DR Congo on Saturday night.
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