SUCCESS New Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso celebrates his side's 1-0 win over Stellenbosch FC in their Betway Premiership clash in Cape Town on Wednesday. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
It may have been just his second match in charge of Mamelodi Sundowns, but new coach Miguel Cardoso is already off to an impressive start.
His first assignment was a Caf Champions League clash against Raja Casablanca over the weekend, with hosts Sundowns running out 1-0 winners.
Just three days later, however, Cardoso opted for a much-changed lineup against Stellenbosch.
Cardoso made six changes for the Betway Premiership encounter against Stellies on Wednesday, as his side again collected a 1-0 victory. It also meant Sundowns pulled three points clear at the summit of the table, ahead of Orlando Pirates who have a game in hand.
“Today we knew that we needed quick players so that we can control these spaces when we deal with long balls,” said Cardoso.
“So the question is indeed how much you can progress in the future. I think that we need obviously to be as much clever as possible to understand what is other team providing us on the game.”
Still, there were a couple of niggles and fitness concerns, explained Cardoso.
“Obviously, we changed players from last game to today. Some of them because we needed to manage the fatigue.
“Some others because they had small issues.”
It’s still early days since Sundowns made the shock decision to show former coach Manqoba Mngqithi the door earlier this month, as the side were top of the table after having dropped just three points from their first eight games.
It means Cardoso is still getting to know the players.
“But the question here is how we believe in all the players. Obviously, they are in different levels,” said Cardoso.
“Some of them are young, some of them are more experienced. Some of them also have their own characteristics that allow us to cope with the moments of the game and with the different teams we are facing.”