How Jose Riveiro prepares to tackle MC Alger on familiar territory

The two teams lock horns at the Ali La Pointe stadium in Douera.

Riveiro is content that past matches in the group stages against another Algerian side in CRB and record 12 times African champions has helped them to prepare for this kind of visit.

"Well, we already have had some experiences to play in that kind of environment. We know that we will probably experience an untagonistic atmosphere but it's a football atmosphere so we're more than happy to find ourselves there, to not only play against the opponent in this case also try to be cool,” Riveiro said.

“To be focused on what matters, which is what's happening on the field and have that experience in front of a very passionate crowd. It's going to be nice, it's going to be a good experience for our players as well for the future and we will prepare the game the same way that we used to do it which is the intention to be ourselves, to get the result that we are looking for, which is no other than winning.

“Understanding that it's gonna be a very difficult task to get that result away from home in a Champions League quarterfinals but that's the challenge, we accept it and we wanna try to be at that level."

READ: Peter Shalulile: Champions League a different ball game

It was the first time that Riveiro took part in the group stages of this competition, and Pirates also reached the knockout phase for the first time since 2013. 

The Spanish-born coach says this phase of the tournament is a game of finer margins.

"As usual, every time you make a step forward in the competitions that you're playing, in this case the Champions League, the rhythm is different, the pace is different. You have less time to think and to play in domestic competition in most of the games,” he added.

“So, basically the speed of the game is different and you need to do quick adjustments to those circumstances in order to survive in those games, that's probably the main difference that I notice in my first time experience in the group stages.

The quality of the players is higher and that means that whichever mistake you make on the game you usually get punished or are close to get punished. So, it's a small margin, it's about small details and yeah, I think right now we are more prepared than five months ago."