What Cardoso Makes Of Suarez Ahead Of Al Ahly Clash

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has revealed his stance on error-prone defender Lucas Suarez ahead of their first-leg semi-final clash against Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League at Loftus Stadium on Saturday (15:00).

The Argentine center-back, who joined the Brazilians from CA Talleres of Argentina in January 2025 on a loan deal set to run until December this year, was subject to scrutiny after making a costly error in Sundowns’ 2-1 defeat to Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Now, with the crucial continental clash on the horizon, the Portuguese tactician shielded Suarez, assuming responsibility for the player’s blunder. The Downs mentor says he won’t dwell on the experienced 30-year-old’s past mistakes.

“The one who makes more mistakes is me. Maybe before any player makes a mistake, I make a lot of mistakes too, and the first mistake I make comes from the job I have, choosing the players. So, when I choose a starting XI, there are already 22 players who think I made a mistake and many people who also think I made a mistake,” said Cardoso.

“Mistakes are part of the game, of course, there are goals that come from fantastic moments that are not a mistake, but most of them become of small things that could have happened or did not happen in the game.

“I don’t stay too attached to the past. Everybody works to be better, everyone wants to be better. We trust that the players that we have in the group are the ones that can cope with the difficulties, with the difficult moments that come from the game.”

Cardoso, who was visibly dejected in his post-match press conference in the aftermath of the Chiefs’ defeat, reiterated his stance on the Ke Yona Cup exit, stating that his team was knocked out due to an error from the officials, not Suarez’s slip-up.

“But obviously, there’s always an emotional state that we need to bring to the players so that they can perform properly. As you understood whatever happened from the last match, there was still time to be played,” the 52-year-old mentor added.

“And it’s not because of that mistake that we lost, it’s because of other mistakes that we lost. I don’t want to speak about the last game; we should always look to the future, and I’m the kind of coach who, after the game finishes, always looks back to see what I could have done better in this context.

“So, I always feel it’s my responsibility because I can only get better on what I can control. Despite the moment of the competition, I always have to go back. But my job is to check what I could have done to prevent [danger] or what I could have done better.”