The completion of Mamelodi Sundowns’ season locally and on the continent has come with Miguel Cardoso completing six months and 35 games in charge at the club.
While there is interest in preparing for the FIFA Club World Cup in USA coming up next, eyes have descended on Cardoso for what he has done at Sundowns to date.
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For the basics, it shows that the Portuguese has won 24, drawn six and lost five with 66 goals scored and 20 conceded.
Of the three competitions that he oversaw, he crucially lost the CAF Champions League final, came stuck in the semifinals against Kaizer Chiefs and then lifted the Betway Premiership as has become standard procedure at Sundowns.
The wins, goals scored and conceded might appear glittering from a distance but were not achieved where it mattered.
Winning league games is not what Sundowns desire anymore as proven by the fact that their latest league title was their eighth in a row with Pitso Mosimane, Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi achieving this with ease as well.
Reality is that Cardoso was brought in largely for the Champions League which is the priority competition for Sundowns.
Despite going through to the final, Sundowns only won once in the last six games which stretched back to the quarterfinals when they met Esperance.
The 1-0 win in the first leg of their quarterfinal against the Tunisians went on to be the only victory recorded as they played out a goalless draw in Tunis, drew nil all at home against Al Ahly in the semis first leg at home before holding on for a 1-1 away to go through on the away goals.
Then in the final, they couldn’t hold on to the slender 1-0 lead at home against Pyramids before being down in Cairo.
Cardoso won two, drew one, and lost one in the group stages.
The critics – who have included the usual vocal former players – have expressed reservations about Cardoso’s approach to games which is thin on what has traditionally been the definition of the club’s playing style.
Being ultra-defensive was listed as the main reason for his departure in his previous job at Esperance and it has been suggested traces of that element are already visible at Sundowns.
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How games are approached is slowly becoming the bone of contention for those focused on the club.
Next up for Sundowns is the Club World Cup with games but this is a competition which is not expected to give Cardoso’s critics reason to sharpen their knives.
Photo: Gallo Images
