Cardoso backs Van Rooyen to make swift Sundowns transition

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says new signing Deano Van Rooyen has the quality and experience to settle quickly after joining the club as an emergency replacement for injured right-back Khuliso Mudau.

Van Rooyen became a free agent after being released by Orlando Pirates and was signed by Sundowns shortly afterwards. The former Stellenbosch FC captain is now being prepared for competitive action while adapting to his new surroundings.

Cardoso praised the 33-year-old after Sundowns’ 3-0 victory over Siwelele FC on Wednesday, explaining that the club’s immediate priorities were to improve Van Rooyen’s match fitness and help him understand the team’s culture.

“Obviously he is a quality player, his career speaks for him, and we need to integrate him as best as possible and as quickly as possible,” Cardoso told journalists.

“Also, we trust the players that we have, as you saw, and we will continue to trust.

“But we need more options, we need to bring quality but also numbers so in case of injury we don’t look into the sky and we’re out of options.”

Van Rooyen had already featured in a friendly on Wednesday morning, playing 50 minutes alongside Sundowns players who were not involved in the match against Siwelele FC.

Cardoso said the defender did not have significant concerns over his physical condition, although he still needed to reach the level required to play full matches.

“He will be ready pretty quick. He is not fat at the moment, so there are not a lot of worries on his condition regarding body composition,” said the Portuguese coach.

“It’s obviously a matter of physically picking the pace to play games.”

Van Rooyen was also taken to the team’s camp as part of the process of bringing him into the squad. Cardoso said the move was designed not only to help him understand what is expected of him on the pitch, but also to establish his place within the group.

“And he will, for sure, in proper time understand what we want from the position,” he added. “He is versatile and clever and [has] a lot of experience, so he will understand very quickly whatever we ask from him.”

“We also decided to take him on camp, so he was with the team. So, he left in the morning and came back so that we integrate him into the group as quickly as possible. It’s a social process that needs to happen also.”

Cardoso said Van Rooyen’s existing relationships with Sundowns players should make that adjustment easier.

“It’s obvious, everyone knows him, they are friends,” he said.

“It’s a nice thing that doesn’t happen in other countries. In South Africa, players have a friendly relation even when they play in teams that are rivals. We see that after the matches, it’s clear, so it’s easier for them to integrate.”