Cardoso Downplays Pressure Of Pirates Clash
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has played down the pressure of the much-anticipated gigantic clash against Orlando Pirates in the Betway Premiership at Loftus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides will lock horns in what will be a top-of-the-table affair in the capital city, with the Brazilians heading into the encounter with a six-point gap over second-placed Buccaneers, who are determined to take the race to the wire.
Masandawana took their points tally to 39 after drubbing cross-town rivals SuperSport United 3-0 on Wednesday, while Jose Riveiro’s men have accumulated 33 points with a game in hand after overcoming Sekhukhune United on the same night.
Now, with the fixture becoming somewhat physical over the past few seasons, the Downs mentor insists that he is solely focused on what lies ahead, stating that the dynamics of the two teams have changed going to this match.
“I focus mainly on our team, we don’t care about what happened in the past, it’s a new page, it’s different teams, and both our teams are different. I know the approach from the last game, I know what happened,” said Cardoso.
“But I need to know how we are going to approach the game; that’s the most important message we need to pass on to our players and we need to study the approach we are going to have very well.”
Despite the encounter being under the spotlight, the Portuguese tactician is adamant that it’s just like any other match Masandawana will play this season. Cardoso says the outcome of the game won’t decide the title race.
“Anyway, we are in the process of growing our team, there’s always details we have to take into consideration, and we’ll do it but it’s just another match of football. And whatever happens on the pitch it’s just three points,” he added.
“Whatever happens it doesn’t close the championship; it will keep it open until the end for sure. It’s two balanced teams that have their qualities but two teams that want to win so badly so that makes it an interesting aspect of the game.”
However, the 52-year-old, who led Esperance de Tunis to the CAF Champions League final last season, is expecting a tough match from Pirates and called for a clean game to display the quality of the South African top-flight to the rest of the world.
“Both teams will want to win the match, also I believe the game will have moments. I hope we have a good football match that will also highlight South African football to the world,” Cardoso, who was appointed in December continued.
