Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has come out in defence of his side’s tactical approach after they secured a place in the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League with a goalless draw away to Esperance in Tunisia.
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Having taken a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg at Loftus Versfeld, Sundowns delivered what many might call an “ugly” performance in the return leg—but one that was tactically disciplined and effective.
Gone were the flowing passes and attacking flair traditionally associated with the Brazilians. Instead, fans saw a more conservative and resolute outfit that put bodies on the line to preserve their aggregate lead.
While some critics questioned the shift in style, Cardoso—who previously coached Esperance—stood firm in his post-match assessment and defended his players’ display.
"Yeah, I think that people in Tunisia developed an idea regarding me as a coach. That is exactly not correct. Even in the last weeks I heard again people saying that we are defensive, that I am a coach that has a defensive approach. And I always told you that that is not exactly correct,” he said.
“What we tried to do was play a Champions League quarter-final against a team that is very strong. And if you want to succeed to play in a team like Esperance, like Al Ahly, like Al Hilal, like Pyramids, like Pirates or AS FAR disputing the quarter-final and that some of them moved forward, you must be very, very complete as a team. You can never be naive, and adapting to the realities is a quality that myself as a coach, I've been developing. Because maybe in the beginning of my career, I thought I would win against everybody the same way, but football taught me very easily that you need to adapt to the context.
"You cannot play the same way when you’re playing in Hades against Esperance as when you're playing in Loftus – you cannot play. So you need to understand what game you are playing and even during the game, what games you are playing, because there's games happening all the time. And I think we coped, we coped quite well with the different moments. Sometimes risky, sometimes more audacious, sometimes more brave, sometimes more strategical. But I had to help my players.”
Sundowns now turn their attention to a blockbuster semi-final clash against record champions Al Ahly, with Cardoso’s tactical acumen once again set to come under the spotlight.
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