Cardoso Reflects On First Season In Charge Of Sundowns
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has reflected on his first season in charge of the reigning Betway Premiership champions, having replaced Manqoba Mnqithi in the hot seat in December last year.
The Portuguese tactician had a flying start to his tenure at the Chloorkop-based outfit, winning four matches on the spin across all competitions before tasting his first defeat at the helm against Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League group stages.
Yet, Cardoso was able to guide the Tshwane giants to a record-extending eighth consecutive championship. They fell short to Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup semi-final, before suffering a heartbreaking defeat to Egyptian side Pyramids FC in the CAF Champions League in the last term.
With the new season fast approaching, the 53-year-old mentor says he has a plethora of memories from the 2024/25 campaign, highlighting notable matches which set the tone for Downs’ free-scoring form of 37 goals scored in 13 matches across all competitions between January and February.
“Many fantastic memories come to my mind regarding the first season in the PSL. I think there are different moments, but I can highlight the most important. Well, first of all, the start was amazing, difficult but very good in terms of results,” said Cardoso, who is nominated for Betway Coach of the Season.
“We won important matches immediately with Stellenbosch and AmaZulu away, which gave us the positive energy to gather the souls of everybody together. Then I remember the month of January, where we scored goals after goals, winning matches by big difference [scorelines], which gave us a very powerful statement in that moment.”
Moreover, Cardoso touched on his team’s exploits on the continental stage during the run-in, where the South African champions recorded six consecutive wins in the Betway Premiership despite a congested fixture schedule.
“I also remember the moment we won against Al Ahly and qualified for the Champions League final, where we had six matches to play until the end of the season, and we made six wins in a row with outstanding performances, commitment to our results, and wonderful football played,” he added.
“So, for me, these memories remain: the joy of the people, the joy of the supporters, the joy we had playing football, the joy of the players celebrating victories, and the images that are behind those results that we got and the records that we broke until we won the league title.”
Masandawana are set to report back to training on Monday after participating in the revamped 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in the USA. Although Cardoso’s charges held their own against formidable opponents, they crashed out in the group stages, like other African representatives.
