Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has delivered an impassioned defense of his team, revealing extensive injury concerns that forced him to field an unusual team in Wednesday night's goalless draw against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium.
The Portuguese mentor responded emotionally to criticism over missing key players, emphasizing that fans and media don't understand the full extent of injury problems affecting his squad following their MTN8 semi-final defeat to Orlando Pirates.
Cardoso explained to journalists that several players, including defenders Grant Kekana and Divine Lunga, were unavailable due to injuries sustained in Saturday's loss to Bucs.
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"During the week, there were a lot of issues regarding the players that the coach didn't put... this one and that one player didn't play. It's Mothobi (Mvala). It's (Thapelo) Maseko and people don't know. And people should sometimes trust that people inside a club like Mamelodi Sundowns work very hard to respect the players we have, understanding which players can and should play," Cardoso told the media.
The coach revealed specific injury details that had not been made public previously.
"No one knows that Mothobi Mvala had a setback on his knee. No one knows. But they are charging me because the coach didn't put Mothobi Mvala to play. But they forget that we have four or five players in that position. And that's the respect I have for my players. (Grant) Kekana, you saw, how he played the last match. That he suffered. He struggled inside the pitch, but he handled a big, strong knock on the knee. Those things are not small."
Cardoso also provided updates on other injured players, explaining the careful management required to prevent further damage.
"Thank God Mothobi is training normally. Grant will return to training sessions quickly. We are recovering Themba Zwane. Maseko had an injury. He was assessed today (Wednesday), and I don't know the results of the injury he has yet. He had an injury in the match against Orlando Pirates. Divine Lunga finished the match against Orlando Pirates as you saw with a big concussion on the hip. So, we also made an assessment on him today (Wednesday). I don't know exactly... the results of the scan. Coaches and doctors and physios and the performance department, we are not sleeping.
"You can also ask why Miguel took out Morena when he was playing so well. But Morena could not finish the match because otherwise he would be a risk. You know Morena had already risked enough from the indication I had from the medical department in terms of his use in the match. I risked more already. This is the respect as well that we as coaches, as the performance department, as doctors that we need. We demand to have (this) from people. Not charging us for the results and faults while there are reasons for us to make things, and that's what we need to do every day regarding the management of the team," Cardoso added.
The coach became increasingly emotional when defending his track record at the club, reminding critics of his achievements since arriving at Sundowns.
"Yeah, but part of the past was also done by me with the players since I arrived. I remember that the club in 10 years, didn't arrive in the finals of the Champions League, and we did it. And we kept winning the championship. And we broke all the records in the PSL, I think, except one. So this is the respect that was done by the people who arrived in the club, not only by the ones who were here. Everyone works hard every day. We demand respect for the work we did because this is also the trust we have inside the club. There is a big commitment, big trust inside Mamelodi Sundowns. It's important to understand that.
"Everybody wants to win every match but no team wins every match and if you are really fair to the people who work at Mamelodi Sundowns, to the coaching staff, to the technical department, to the sporting director you will understand that the team that played the World Cup is not the same team to the one that is playing now because the impact of the players that are absent is so much so that we have to rebuild the team and rebuilding is being done in this moment that some of the players are still young. That last year, they almost didn't play, and we are rebuilding over that. We are happy to do it, and we are pleased. We will arrive where we want to arrive because we know which direction we are doing very well in, believe me. And we are so committed on that to work. We are so strong inside the club. And we will become stronger and victories will follow, one after another because it's the nature. It will happen, but it's not easy for the team to have the schedule we have."
Cardoso concluded with an emotional tribute to South Africa and the support he has received from fans.
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"It's not easy. I would like to see any other team to have a schedule that we are facing, what results they will face, but we are strong. We are very strong. It's not (just) me that is strong. We are strong because my strength comes from the support I have in the club. The support I have from the real fans. From the ones who are there every day..."
"A way of living together, and this is the South Africa that I found when I arrived here. A country of values. A country of people who respect each other. A country where I felt so welcomed. I felt so nice to live and I brought my family to know. Because I said from the first day to my papa and mama what a country I found! What a people I found! So gentle, so kind, so full of love, and I hope to live that because that's what I deserve also," Cardoso told journalists.
Cardoso's emotional press conference highlights the mounting pressure at Sundowns as they navigate injury challenges while also dealing with ongoing contract disputes that have been well-reported. The coach's passionate defense of his methods and achievements suggests he feels increasingly under scrutiny despite his previous successes, with the challenge now being to maintain squad harmony and performance levels while rebuilding the team during a demanding fixture schedule.
@soccer_laduma #MiguelCardoso, coach of #MamelodiSundowns, addresses the absence of key players for the clash against #KaizerChiefs
