Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has called on football faithful to refrain from judging youngster Relebohile Mofokeng on his goalscoring and assist abilities solely because he is more than that.
Riveiro was speaking during the pre-match press conference for the upcoming Nedbank Cup quarterfinal where his side will be taking on AmaZulu at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, kicking off at 6 PM.
He acknowledged the importance of goals and assists in winning matches but stressed that they are more concerned about the player’s holistic contribution as well as influence on the field of play.
“Rele, like every other forward in our team, in every other team, they are the ones that find themselves in the last stages of every attack. Sometimes to play the last pass, the second last (pass) and the goal”.
The Spaniard alluded that anyone could rank players as they see fit based on their merits, including goals and assists. However, for them, it is important to judge players on more than what they do in the field than just goals and assists.
“It depends, it’s up to everyone, how do you measure the performance of a player, for us it is not only what happened in the last touch, but also his contribution in the second last pass, in his capacity to entertain more than one player in each and every action which is giving us different types of advantage.”
“If he can complete his performances with goals with assists, we all celebrate of course but it’s not the only reason or the only measurement for players like Rele, their influence in the game is going beyond those figures”.
The 19-year-old skilful winger who came from the club’s development structures has cemented his place in the Bucs starting eleven since being promoted. Ratomo has been having an impressive 2023/2024 season so far, he has played a total of 28 matches, scored three goals, and provided four assists in all competitions so far.
He was instrumental in the club’s recent thrashing of Golden Arrows where they hammered them 7-1, scoring in the 14th minute and also providing an assist. We look to see if he will continue with his brilliance in the upcoming fixture against AmaZulu and help his club in a bid to retain their Nedbank Cup trophy.
Written by Siphesihle Soni