After Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso guided Mamelodi Sundowns to the CAF Champions League final, Soccer Laduma looks at the nationality of coaches who have won the trophy the most over the years.
Portuguese coaches have become in demand around the world, as Sundowns joined a number of English Premier League clubs to hire mentors from the southern Europe, with the latest Ruben Amorim in charge of Manchester United.
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In the CAF Champions League final, Cardoso, hoisting the Portuguese flag, will be up against Pyramids coach Krunoslav Jurcic of Croatia.
The former Esperance coach would not feel out of place in terms of the pedigree of Portuguese tacticians, as compatriot Manuel Jose is the most successful in the tournament with four titles, all with Al Ahly. Jose was victorious with the record champions in 2001, 2005, 2006 and 2008.
History in this regard has Sundowns in it, as former coach Pitso Mosimane, a South African, is the second-most successful coach with three titles, having won his first with Masandawana in 2016.
Mosimane won his other two titles with Al Ahly in 2020 and 2021, although he joined the club of the century in the semi-finals in 2020.
Jurcic will be looking up to two coaches from his nation who have won the trophy before, Ivan Ridanovic and Branko Zutic, both with Cameroonian club Canon Yaounde in 1978 and 1980, although the country was still known as Yugoslavia.
Swiss coach Marcel Koller missed the chance to join Mosimane with three titles, after The Red Devils were knocked out by Sundowns in this season's semi-finals as defending champions.
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Koller won two titles both with Al Ahly, back-to-back in 2023 and 2024. The former Basel coach is in company with Tunisian mentor Mouin Chaabani, who have two titles in recent seasons, after he also achieved back-to-back triumphs with Esperance in 2018 and 2019.
Cardoso missed out on his first title last season, after the Red and Yellow lost to The Red Devils in the final, 1-0 on aggregate.
