PIC: Pitso Mosimane with the 2020 Nedbank Cup trophy

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro will be chasing an unprecedented third successive Nedbank Cup title when his side face SuperSport United away in their quarterfinal next month.
He is one of three coaches remaining in this year’s competition to have lifted the trophy before, along with Marumo Gallants’ Dan Malesela, who led TS Galaxy to the title as a second-tier side in 2019, and SuperSport’s Gavin Hunt.
Spaniard Riveiro has enjoyed back-to-back wins and remains unbeaten in the Nedbank Cup since his arrival in South African football in 2022.    
Hunt has won ‘South Africa’s FA Cup’ before with Moroka Swallows in 2004 and SuperSport during his first spell in 2012, and was also a beaten finalists in 2013 and 2014 and he made three visits to the decider in a row.  
Here is the full list of coaches to have lifted the trophy since 2008.

2008
Trott Moloto (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Moloto took over at Sundowns from Gordon Igesund in February 2008, just a month before they started their Nedbank Cup campaign. He saw them past both SuperSport United and Kaizer Chiefs, before a meeting with National First Division side Mpumalanga Black Aces in the decider. Lerato Chabangu scored a late winner for The Brazilians as they lifted the trophy.

2009
Julio Leal (Moroka Swallows)

This would prove to be the final game in charge for the Brazilian Leal, who was axed despite his side lifting the Nedbank Cup trophy, paying the price for some indifferent league form. He got his team to the final where they faced NFD side University of Pretoria, and had too much for the second-tier outfit as another Brazilian, Vinicius Da Silva, scored the only goal of the game.

2010
Roger de Sa (BidVest Wits)

De Sa led Wits to a surprise final appearance with a young team that was by no means the finished article. They faced off against AmaZulu and in a tight game, vanquished their opponents 3-0 after late goals from Sifiso Vilakazi (two) and Brazilian Fabricio Da Silva. The scoreline looks one-sided, but Wits victory was only secured in the dying minutes. 

2011
Ruud Krol (Orlando Pirates)

Another coach who won the Nedbank Cup and left immediately afterwards, Dutchman Krol led his Pirates team to the League and top eight trophies as well, but did not have his contract renewed. Pirates went behind in this final against NFD side Black Leopards, but stormed back to win 3-1 thanks to goals from Thulasizwe Mbuyane (two) and Isaac Chansa.

2012
Gavin Hunt (SuperSport United)

This was the first of three finals in a row for Hunt and his SuperSport side easily defeated Sundowns 2-0 as Thabo September and Kermit Erasmus netted second half goals. He would return in 2013, only to see SuperSport lose 1-0 to Kaizer Chiefs, and then following a switch to BidVest Wits, led the latter to the 2014 final as well, where they were beaten 3-1 by Orlando Pirates.

2013
Stuart Baxter (Kaizer Chiefs)

Baxter started like a house on fire in his first spell at Chiefs, pulling off the ‘Double’ in his first season as he ended it with the Nedbank Cup trophy following a 1-0 win over SuperSport. Bernard Parker got the only goal of the game in extra-time as the AmaKhosi denied Matsatsantsa back-to-back trophy wins.

2014
Vladimir Vermezovic (Orlando Pirates)

Pirates had already advanced past the Last 32 of the Nedbank Cup when Vermezovic, who also spent nearly three seasons at Chiefs, arrived at the club. He promised his players that if they reached the final, he would ensure they won it and so it proved as they roared back from a goal down to beat Wits 3-1 with Kermit Erasmus (two) and Sifiso Myeni on target.

2015
Pitso Mosimane (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Mosimane had already lifted the trophy with SuperSport in 2005, and edged to another win with Sundowns as they defeated De Sa’s Ajax Cape Town in the decider in a penalty shoot-out following a 0-0 draw. Abbubaker Mobara had a chance to win it for Ajax during the spot-kicks, but missed and Sundowns won the day as they repeated their 2008 success.

2016
Stuart Baxter (SuperSport United)

Baxter had only been at SuperSport a matter of months when he led them to the Nedbank Cup trophy, defeating Pirates 3-2 in the final. After going a goal down, his side stormed into a 3-1 halftime lead as Jeremy Brockie, Bradley Grobler and Michael Boxall all found the net to give Baxter his second trophy win.

2017

Stuart Baxter (SuperSport United)

Baxter helped SuperSport retain the Nedbank Cup title with a thumping 4-1 victory over Pirates in the decider. Bradley Grobler got two, with Jeremy Brockie and Kingston Nkhatha also on the scoresheet. It meant that Baxter did not lose a Nedbank Cup fixture in his 18 months in charge at SuperSport. 

2018
Luc Eymael (Free State Stars)

Belgian coach Eymael guided Free State Stars to the final, where they met Maritzburg United at the Cape Town Stadium. The latter were probably the slight favourites, but it was Stars who triumphed in the decider as they provided a tactical masterclass to keep the KwaZulu-Natal side at bay. Goodman Dlamini scored the winning goal in a 1-0 success for Ea Lla Koto.

2019

Dan Malesela (TS Galaxy)

Malesela adds to the list of individuals to have won the Nedbank Cup competition as both a player and a coach, guiding second-tier TS Galaxy to a shock victory over Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. It was without doubt the pinnacle of his coaching career to date and his magic moment was sealed by a late Zakhele Lepasa penalty.   

2020
Pitso Mosimane (Mamelodi Sundowns)

The final would be the last game in charge for Mosimane at Sundowns before he left for Egyptian giants Al Ahly, but he sealed a ‘Treble’ of trophy wins in the 2019-20 season for the Tshwane side. They met Bloemfontein Celtic in the decider at the Orlando Stadium, with Gaston Sirino netting a superb winner 10 minutes from the end.  

2021
Dylan Kerr (TTM)

Kerr had been brought to TTM to save them from relegation, so it was an added bonus when he led the team to the Nedbank Cup decider, beating Sundowns in the semifinals. They faced Chippa United and a lone strike from Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo won the day for the Limpopo side. 

2022
Manqoba Mngqithi & Rulani Mokwena (Mamelodi Sundowns)
The duo collected their first wins as co-coaches in the Nedbank Cup having won the trophy previously in assistant roles to Pitso Mosimane. Peter Shalulile put Sundowns in front in the final against Marumo Gallants, but Sede Dion equalised. The winner came in the very last seconds of extra-time from Thapelo Morena to give The Brazilians the win.

2023

Jose Riveiro (Orlando Pirates)

Riveiro was in his first season in South Africa and had already claimed the MTN8, so was chasing a second piece of silverware to go with his side’s second-place finish in the league. Sekhukhune United stood in their way at a sold out final at Loftus Stadium, and it was the latter who took an early lead. But Riveiro had made his side resilient and they rallied to win 2-1 and take home the trophy. 

2024

Jose Riveiro (Orlando Pirates)

Riveiro made it back-to-back triumphs as his side came from behind to beat Sundowns 2-1 in the decider, thanks to a Patrick Maswanganyi penalty and an injury-time winner from Relebohile Mofokeng. He has already claimed a hat-trick of MTN8 titles with a win this season, and will be looking to do the same in the Nedbank Cup, which would be a remarkable feat.