Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso understands that there will be haters talking about the team's exit at the FIFA Club World Cup, but revealed that it makes them stronger as he praised his players for the work they put in.
Needing a victory to become the only African club to progress to the last 16, Sundowns failed to make the most of their dominance against their Brazilian opponents, playing out to a goalless draw at Hard Rock Stadium.
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It's a game Sundowns will look back at and probably feel they should have done better, considering their opponents did not offer much in terms of attack. In fact, it seemed Fluminense were comfortable to give Sundowns most of the possession in midfield, knowing that the Tshwane giants were not much of a threat. The way Sundowns played suited Fluminense because the Brazilian side needed just a draw to progress to the last 16.
"I think it's easy to speak about matches likes this, despite the emotions that might be inside of us, of me. But I think it's very easy because everybody had a chance to watch our wonderful football match. Everybody had the chance to watch 22 players playing at the highest level. Not the most easy conditions, but what makes it so easy is to understand the level which my players played. And that is something that's marvelous to see," Cardoso told media in Miami after the game.
"I invite (people) to study a little bit the team of Fluminense, study a little bit the team of Borussia Dortmund and even the team of Ulsan and understand the level in which Mamelodi Sundowns played at this Club World Cup. That's why it makes it easy to speak about it. It makes us much better than we were than when we got here. Mamelodi Sundowns takes a lot of things from this competition. We got four points. It means we lost one match out of three. The character we put on the pitch was absolutely outstanding. We make the club even more known in the world. Of course, we are not happy. We had an objective for this match, but I am happy with the capacity the players showed. We go back to our country with our heads up because we are much more strong."
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Cardoso went on to talk about how haters could have a thing or two to say about the team's exit from the competition.
"We know how much the identity of this club has to do with the people who support us. We know how much the people look at us and we know how much we represent the people that give us so much love. I have nothing with South Africa and the township of Mamelodi, but I have so much at the same time to do with that because I know the responsibility I have and I love so much the people," the Portuguese mentor said.
"It is fine to play the football that we did because also our fans want us to be loyal to that idea because it's their identity. It's their joy, it's their pleasure. When we dance, they dance with us. When they dance, we dance with them. We enter the pitch the way we do so that immediately we put them on fire and create identification. We feel they are us and we feel we are them. I know at the same (time) in South Africa there will be a lot of haters speaking about us, but we grow so much when people speak bad about us."
Sundowns join Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca and Esperance on planes back to Africa following the group stage disappointments for African teams.
