Cardoso Makes Rallying Plea To SA Football Supporters
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has called on South African football supporters to come out in numbers to help the Masandawana faithful fill up Loftus Stadium ahead of their big clash against Esperance de Tunis on Tuesday (15:00).
The Portuguese tactician will come up against his former club for the first time since his departure in October 2024. With a semi-final spot on the line, Cardoso will return to Tunisia for the decisive second leg of their CAF Champions League quarterfinals tie against the Tunisian giants.
Interestingly, Downs’s mentor took Taraji to the latter stages of the competition last season, sending his current employers packing in the semi-finals before succumbing to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly in a two-legged final.
Having experienced the atmosphere in North Africa, the 52-year-old gaffer says the Brazilians need all the support they can get – not only from their own supporters but the whole country at large, stating that he also wishes other South African representatives well on the continent.
“North African teams always bring something extra to the game, and we also need [the support]. In the last matches, unfortunately, not only because we played most of them at Lucas Moripe but sometimes because of the weather – it’s raining, and we didn’t have a lot of people in the stadium,” said Cardoso.
“But I ask our fans, our supporters, our people that love football in South Africa [to come to the stadium], not necessarily need to love Mamelodi Sundowns because I also want to see the other teams from South Africa succeeding.
“I want to see Stellenbosch in the final of the CAF Confederations Cup, and I want to play the final of the CAF Champions League against Pirates.”
Cardoso made an earnest imploration to their rivals’ fans to be part of the Sundowns’ 12th man for the crucial encounter as they aim to outnumber the visitors. The former Esperance boss says they will be counting on the home crowd to get them over the line.
“So, please, [to the] people who love football, come to our stadium, come and fill our stadium. Help us to be strong and make people that support Mamelodi Sundowns to feel heard during the match so that we also get the energy South African teams get when they play at home,” he added.
“We love those ambiences; we love those ambiences, and those ambiences should highlight the best of the players. That’s also something we would like to have so that we can indeed feel that excitement because a Champions League match is not like any other match – it’s something else.
“And the ambience you can put in the stadium can help us to get a little bit of extra energy in the moments where we need it.”
The Chloorkop-based outfit suffered three defeats at the hands of the Tunisian champions in their four meetings at the highest level of African football. Cardoso will be keen to etch his name in the Brazilians’ history by becoming the first Sundowns coach to claim Esperance’s scalp.
