Cardoso Praises Mngqithi’s Foundation At Sundowns 

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed immense respect for his predecessor, Manqoba Mngqithi, crediting him for laying a solid foundation for the team’s success.

This was after the Brazilians beat Stellenbosch 3-0 in the Betway Premiership match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

A win on Wednesday against Chippa United will seal their eighth successive league title for Sundowns 

“I arrived in the middle of the season, and I have a respect for the coach who started Manqoba Mngqithi, and the objective is still the same,” Cardoso said.

“Credit must go to the players, management because it was important to build the team. 

“I spoke with coach Manqoba when we played against them [Golden Arrows], telling him that he made things not difficult for me and I respect him.” 

Mngqithi took the reins at the start of the season, following Rulani Mokwena’s departure, and despite losing the MTN 8 and Nedbank Cup trophies, he positioned the team strongly in the league before parting ways with the club in December. That was due to the poor start in the CAF Champions League group stages, failing to win in the opening two matches. 

Sundowns have since reached the Champions League final, and they will face Pyramids in the two-legged final later this month and early next June. 

“It’s important that people recognize what we’ve been doing in the league. We took the team to a high level, not only playing fantastically but breaking record after record,” Cardoso continued. 

Following their dominant 3-0 victory over Stellies, Cardoso revealed that the objectives of winning the league remain.

“We knew that winning today [Sunday] has put us very, very close to our objectives,” the Portuguese mentor said.

“Obviously, our objective is to win the championship, and we are willing to take more points, and we are going to play the last two games with the mentality of winning them so that we can finish in a better place.”

Cardoso praised Stellenbosch, acknowledging their impressive season in the CAF Confederation Cup. 

“Today [on Sunday] we celebrated, but we were not celebrating the championship, we were celebrating the victory against a team that has a lot of qualities. They made a very good season, playing in the CAF Confederation Cup, and they did very well.”

The win over Stellenbosch showcased Sundowns’ strength, with early goals giving them confidence. 

“We respect Stellenbosch, but we were so strong, and the proof is there because we scored early goals that gave us more confidence.”