Orlando Pirates are stronger side than MC Alger – Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has said that Pirates are stronger than Algerian side MC Alger, whom they beat 2-0 in the CAF Champions League on Saturday.

Sundowns on Wednesday defeated Orlando Pirates 2-1 at the FNB Stadium in the Betway Premiership League.

Addressing the media after the game, Cardoso said that the Pirates played better, but they had planned very well for them.

“That is a very funny question, because during this week I heard, or the previous week, I heard a lot of times saying that SWundowns always plays the same way.  Look, sometimes things go well, sometimes things don’t go well.  I come from I a small village in Portugal, and my family was always very humble. And that’s the way we have to live in this game, because the game is like a big trip by car. 

“Sometimes you are in the mountains, you climb the mountains, sometimes you go down. Yeah, we worked quite a lot in terms of approaching, and I think it’s clear that we brought different things. We are also trying to bring different challenges according to how the teams play. This team of Pirates, I repeat, is a high-quality team, and I believe that this team is strong. I said to my assistant coaches, this team is stronger than MC Alger. Very strong, this team, very, very strong,” Cardoso told the journalists.  

“That’s why they are making the championship they are doing. That’s why today was very tough. That’s why this season, in 90 minutes played, we never beat them, but also we had never lost. We lost in penalties, as you know. But tough, very tough to prepare this match”. 

About the game on Wednesday, Cardoso said he thinks his players understood the message given to them. 

“I think the players understood the message. They brought the strategy that was important to control the width and to control the space in between lines.  To drop their energy by having the ball. Controlling the ambience in the stadium by having the ball. And then aggressing against them the way we had capacity in different moments. 

“Obviously, the players that we have allow us to create also variability. And that’s basically a challenge that we put in the players on the approach of the game that was different from MC Alger. Clearly, some things I said, sometimes things go well, sometimes things don’t go well. 

“So it’s not because of that that now we are the best ones in the world, or we were before the worst, but one thing is clear, I answered your questions, that the boat doesn’t sail from the wind from yesterday.  We always need to bring new wind because the challenges are different.  They were different on the weekend with MC Alger. They were different today, and they will be different on Saturday with TS Galaxy. And then with AmaZulu on Tuesday, and then on Saturday again. 

“So there are a lot of challenges ahead. Let’s be creative. Let’s hope we can have the players available. Let’s hope luck protects the people who dare to do. And we are just on the way, nothing more than that. Just a big tournament, three points. We need a lot. There’s a lot, a lot, a lot to work on,” Cardoso observed. 

Sundowns’ next game in the league is on Tuesday next week against AmaZulu FC, who are currently fifth on the log table.