Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has brushed aside questions about his possible sacking following their shock CAF Champions League elimination, outlining what he intends to achieve for the rest of the season. 

Speaking to the media at Loftus Versfeld Stadium after Friday’s 1-1 draw with Wiliete SC in the second leg of the Champions League second preliminary round, second leg, Cardoso appeared unfazed about the likelihood of losing his job. 

Champions League defending champions Masandawana were sent packing out of Africa’s most prestigious club competition on the away goals rule after a 0-0 draw away in Angola last weekend. Tashreeq Matthews had handed Sundowns the lead on Friday early into the match, but Mabululu responded for the visitors with a goal four minutes into the second half to seal the Brazilians’ fate.

Four months after earning Sundowns a second star on their badge by winning the Champions League for the first time in a decade, Cardoso appears to have fallen to with a thud. He has now carved an unwanted record of guiding Masandawana to failure to reach the Champions League group stages for 12 consecutive years.

For a club that has prioritised continental competition, missing the group phase has now raised questions about Cardoso’s future at Chloorkop. If he remains coach for the rest of the season, Cardoso will be hard-pressed to wrest the Betway Premiership title from reigning champions Orlando Pirates.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR CARDOSO AND SUNDOWNS: ‘GREAT EMPIRES RISE FROM ASHES’

In emphasising how Sundowns have to dust themselves off from Friday’s disastrous showing at Loftus, the former Esperance Sportive de Tunis tactician has given a WWI and WWII analogy. He likens the Champions League collapse to nations that rose from the ruins of armed conflict.

“For the rest of the season, it means that we have to focus even more on the competitions that we have to play. We already have a qualifying match for the Carling Cup in three days, and then we have an important championship match, and then we have a final to play in the [CAF] Super Cup,” Cardoso told journalists.

“So, there are a lot of trophies to play for. Obviously, we cannot forget what it means to be out of the Champions League. It’s hard for the club, for the coaches. As you can imagine, for me it’s hard after three years in a row in the final, and it’s very hard for the club that it was supposed to be 12 times in a row in the group stage.

“So, great empires also come from ashes. It was like that after the First World War. Many countries nowadays grew, and after the Second World War it was the same. Today [Friday] is a dark night, obviously. But it’s that night that has to give us the energy and purpose to move forward and build more. Maybe it’s an important lesson to look ahead because, as I usually say, we are not what happened to us.”

A BIG PUNCH IN MAMELODI SUNDOWNS’ FACE

Cardoso has also anchored his analysis on what he has achieved at the club, a two-time Champions League finalist with Sundowns. He arrived at Masandawana having also helped Eperance to the 2023/24 season final, making him a finalist three times in succession with two different clubs, and a losing finalist twice before finally getting it right last term. 

“This club is a club that has proposed itself for many years to win the Champions League and to compete every year to win the Champions League. In the last four years, two semi-finals, two finals in the last two years. With me in charge of the team, two finals in a row and one star on the shirt,” added the former Celta Vigo coach when a question about being possibly fired was raised.

“This season we played for two trophies, and we won two trophies. We are leading the league in South Africa. This one is a big knockout; it’s a big punch in our faces, yes. But what will make us strong is how we are going to react, because I see so many things to win. I repeat, it’s a big punch in our faces, absolutely.”

CARDOSO NOT TAKING THE FALL ALONE

Cardoso refused to be the fall guy, insisting everyone at the club should take responsibility for their elimination from Africa’s premier club competition. 

“It’s on me, it’s on the players, it’s on everybody because, as I understand, when we win, everybody wins. When we lose, everybody loses,” he explained. “There are reflections and much analysis we need to do together. What is going to speak for Sundowns is the greatness that will come after this defeat. 

“I feel we have so many beautiful things to do ahead, but we obviously need to stay united and committed to each other, strong inside the doors of Chloorkop. From now on, there will be a lot of fire inside us, I’m pretty sure.

“This season is very far from being a catastrophe; we just need to move forward.”