Cardoso Refuses To Be Held Accountable For Esquivel’s Failure
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso stated that he cannot be held responsible for Matías Esquivel’s failures, as the player was signed by his previous coach, Rulani Mokwena.
Esquivel was a high-profile signing from his homeland in Argentina, joining Sundowns from Lanús in the middle of the 2023/24 season.
However, the 26-year-old saw his opportunities diminish and has since been loaned out to Greek side AE Kifisias until the end of the season.
Esquivel has not featured in any of the three matches Sundowns has played so far, making it unlikely he would have received game time this season, which ultimately led to his loan move.
“Matías is a player who came to Sundowns not with me, but with coach Rulani Mokwena,” Cardoso said at a MTN8 press conference on Thursday.
Mokwena, who was appointed as Sundowns’ head coach in October 2022, was fired by the club at the end of the 2023/24 season, having also not given Esquivel chances to play.
“So, if he didn’t have chances and he didn’t succeed, it was at that time when he went back to Argentina [on loan at Talleres de Córdoba],” Cardoso continued.
“I have nothing to do with him coming to the club, so please don’t put pressure on me regarding Matías Esquivel. But Matías is a very good player, and you will see that he will succeed where he goes.”
Cardoso, who is preparing his side to face Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final at a sold-out Orlando Stadium on Saturday, added, “Sometimes, it’s the context we create because I also didn’t give him many opportunities; it wasn’t only Coach Rulani.
“He and I are not wearing the same shirt when it comes to Matías because we didn’t give him many chances, probably for different reasons, as I don’t know what happened before. But Matías didn’t work or persevere and was consistent in telling me he wanted to play.”
The coach explained that players must show they deserve a spot on the team. “That comes from training hard, better than the others. You need to understand a player must show in training that he is better than the one playing in the same position.”
Cardoso used an example to illustrate his point. “For example, let’s think about Thapelo Maseko. Maseko can play mostly on the left wide-open side, and he can also play on the right and as a number nine because he is a good finisher. On the left, we have Siyabonga Mabena and Tashreeq Matthews.
“So, when Thapelo doesn’t go inside on the left, it means Mabena is getting chances, and also Tashreeq is playing. We can think the same way about the right side, and so on and so on.”
