Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has opened up about how his new signings are adapting, admitting that Fawaaz Basadien is finding it difficult to break into the team due to strong competition.

Sundowns strengthened their squad with a few signings this season after releasing several players. Among the newcomers is Basadien, who joined from Stellenbosch FC, where he was a key player. However, he has found game time hard to come by under Cardoso.

His lack of minutes has also seen Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos leave him out of recent national team selections.

Cardoso explained that Basadien is competing against Aubrey Modiba, Divine Lunga, and Asekho Tiwani for the left-back position, making it one of the toughest spots in the squad to secure.

“I think that the four players we brought into the team, and I remember this was the smallest market in the last five years for Mamelodi Sundowns, it doesn’t mean it was not good. They have different processes of integration. Fawaaz is obviously, I want you to understand the word I am going to use, struggling with the competition,” said Cardoso after Sundowns defeated Remo Stars 2-0 at Loftus Stadium on Sunday and 7-1 on aggregate in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round second leg.

“He is not struggling; all of them are struggling because there is a lot of competition for the position. So Tiwani is also struggling and Divine Lunga is also struggling, and Aubrey is at a very good level at the moment. Let us hope he can continue, but we never know. Fawaaz’s situation is more difficult because of the level of competition for the position.”

The Sundowns coach also discussed Katlego “Tsiki” Ntsabeleng’s progress, saying the midfielder is beginning to understand the club’s playing philosophy.

“Tsiki [Katlego Ntsabeleng] arrived not in the best place, but we see him develop,” he said.

“I was even thinking that would be used, but then we had to manage the two substitutions. I took the opportunity to also put him. I wanted him to play really, I had planned to put him to play because I think he deserved it, he grew a lot in the last two weeks by approaching the understanding of the football we want to play, the positioning, and the task in the position he plays. 

“He played very good, the minutes he played in the first match of this qualifying round, and he trained very well throughout these last two weeks. So I think that he is taking steps towards what we want from him.”

Cardoso also provided updates on Nuno Santos and Miguel Reisinho, noting that their adaptation has been mixed.

“Then Nuno Santos and Miguel Reisinho are in two different positions because, unfortunately, Miguel lost the opportunity to play more consistently on the team through the fact that he got the red card in the first championship match that he entered and that took him out. Also, today’s [Sunday] match to give him more time because basically we know that he cannot play the next two matches. I think Nuno is different.

“Nuno arrived, he played immediately the unfortunate match we had in Golden Arrows, and then he played at home, and we won. He got confident, he was the man of the match in the first match he played at home. He got confident, and he is more experienced as a foreigner working abroad. So he had already profited from one experience in the USA. He is a perfect English speaker so which also helps in relations. So I think the adaptation of both has been very good.”

Cardoso also highlighted why Marcelo Allende continues to feature regularly, praising his fitness and consistency.

“Marcelo is an absolutely injury-free player in general,” said Cardoso.

“It doesn’t mean we can abuse, but we also know that Marcelo is a player who usually makes around 12 kilometers per match, which is absolutely fantastic. But curiously, he is a player who can recover very easily from match to match and still play.”