Morena Ramoreboli plans to sink the Orlando Pirates ship when the South African-born coach leads his Jwaneng Galaxy against the Sea Robbers in a Caf Champions League clash at the national stadium in Gaborone this afternoon.
Free Stater Ramoreboli grabbed the attention of Galaxy when he led Bafana Bafana to Cosafa Cup triumph in 2021, and is now in his third season with the Botswana champions.
Pirates’ pedigree in continental competitions gives them an advantage over a team whose Botswana Premier League (BML) season is yet to commence.
While Pirates will be playing their ninth match in all competitions, Galaxy could be caught cold as they’ve only played two competitive matches this season — a two legged clash against Ugandan club Vipers FC, who they beat 2-1 last month to book a spot in the Champions League’s second qualification round.
Jose Riveiro’s Buccaneers will want to brush Galaxy aside the same way Mamelodi Sundowns did when they beat Bumamuru of Burundi 4-0 in Tanzania on Friday — where Riberio Costa scored a double with Peter Shalulile and Lesiba Nku getting the other goals.
Bucs’ on-form striker Zakhele Lepasa, who has scored 10 goals in eight matches in all competitions — three apiece in the DStv Premiership and Champions League, and four in the MTN8 — will fancy his chances to add to the glut this afternoon.
Ramoreboli is banking on the home crowd to inspire his side to a first leg, second round result that could set them up to challenge for a place in the group stages. He has invested time studying the 1995 champions and is confident of getting a good result at home. “Knowing a lot about a big, quality team like Pirates doesn’t mean they’ll be that predictable,” he said.
“But whatever happens on Sunday (today) it will be because of proper preparations we had. Lots of counterattacking, lots of wing play, lots of box entries, that’s Pirates for you. As I’m saying this, at the back of my mind I know that there are three types of Pirates we might face.
“There’s a very direct Pirates that no one wishes to face. It’s the Pirates that wants to score. When they have Thembinkos Lorch, it’s another version of Pirates with a lot of combination play; and then the current one with (Patrick) Maswanganyi, who is key to them with final passes. So, that’s the kind of Pirates we’ll be facing.”
Founded in 2014 after two local clubs merged, Galaxy have been making big strides since their promotion to the top flight league in Botswana in 2015. Under Ramoreboli, Galaxy made the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in the 2021-2022 season.
Having had the advantage of seeing both the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and BML at close range, Ramoreboli, whose coaching is inspired by Kaizer Chiefs’ Molefi Ntseki and Pitso Mosimane, believes the PSL is ahead in prestige and standard but was quick to insist Botswana is catching up quickly. “There will always be a gap because financially South Africa is a bit stable,” he said.
Knowing a lot about a big, quality team like Pirates doesn’t mean they’ll be that predictable
— Morena Ramoreboli, Jwaneng Galaxy coach
“How the league is run in South Africa compared to Botswana, obviously South Africa is better than this side. But let’s be honest, Botswana is growing fast in terms of football. In the past three seasons we’ve produced four or five players to the north African leagues. The influence of foreign coaches is also helping the growth of Botswana [football].”
While Galaxy have extended Ramoreboli’s contract after winning the league last season — eight points clear of rivals Gaborone United — the Galaxy coach has not been short of suiters, some even coming from PSL clubs. “There have been clubs talking to my agent, and some are still doing so even today,” he said.
“To be honest, joining Galaxy gave me an opportunity and I’m humbled, and leaving them won’t be easy. But at the same time, it’s time to look at what they’ve done for me and where I am today. But if something big comes, we’ll have to make a decision.”
Pirates will host the return leg at Orlando Stadium on September 29, while Sundowns will play Bumamuru on September 30.
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