Pressure points galore for Zwane, Riveiro as crunch 172nd Soweto derby looms

Saturday's 172nd Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates will see their respective coaches, Arthur Zwane and Jose Riveiro, having to deal with contrasting yet crushing pressures.

Zwane, who is in his first season at Chiefs, is seeing flames at the crucible of the coaching seat of the most popular club in the country.

Chiefs go into the game, one they have to win to ensure they retain a mathematical chance of staying in the league race, on the back of a 3-2 loss against Golden Arrows on Sunday.

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Riveiro, who is also in his first season as Pirates' gaffer, is on a different footing, but the Buccaneers are also on the cusp of conceding a second consecutive Soweto derby double.

They lost both fixtures last season and lost the first derby last year due to a spectacular long-range goal from Yusuf Maart.

Zwane, though, has been buckling under the weight of expectation and it showed when posed a question about his future at Thursday's pre-match press conference at the Wanderers Country Club in Illovo.

"I don't know because as far as I know, I'm still the head coach at Kaizer Chiefs," Zwane said.

"I've always been saying this, but the club has a plan and it doesn't matter for the fact that we need three points and we need to win every game.

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"I'm not going into this game worried about my job and other things. The focus is on playing this game and with the players applying themselves.

"I'm there for them as the head coach of the club."

Riveiro, who will be watching the game from the stands because of suspension, was calm when