Four trophies strengthen Miguel Cardoso’s case at Mamelodi Sundowns

Miguel Cardoso’s position at Mamelodi Sundowns has come under sustained scrutiny, but four trophies since his arrival have strengthened the Portuguese coach’s claim to be the right man to lead one of African football’s biggest clubs.

Cardoso joined Sundowns in December 2024 and has since won the Betway Premiership, the CAF Champions League, the FIFA Africa-Asian-Pacific Cup and, most recently, the MTN8.

His tenure at Chloorkop, however, has included disappointment as well as success. At Sundowns, winning is not regarded as an achievement in itself but as an expectation. The league title is close to a requirement, while performance in Africa is the standard by which coaches are ultimately assessed.

Cardoso secured the domestic championship in his first season, but that did little to end the doubts surrounding him. Sundowns’ 3-2 aggregate defeat by Pyramids FC in the 2024/25 CAF Champions League final raised questions over whether he could guide the club through the final stage of its continental challenge.

Those concerns reflected the scale of the task. Sundowns had assembled a squad capable of dominating South Africa and were seeking to restore themselves as the leading force in African club football.

Although reaching the final represented progress, defeat meant Cardoso had to return the following season and show that he could complete the job.

He did so in May 2026, when Sundowns beat Morocco’s AS FAR 2-1 on aggregate to win their second Champions League title. The victory became a defining point in Cardoso’s time at the club, providing a response to the previous campaign’s disappointment and delivering the prize most central to Sundowns’ ambitions.

There were setbacks elsewhere. Sundowns lost the 2025/26 league title and were also frustrated in domestic cup competitions, underlining that continental success does not guarantee control of every competition.

The start of the new campaign has nevertheless added to the sense of progress. Sundowns beat Al Ahli Saudi 2-1 to lift the FIFA Africa-Asian-Pacific Cup, before defeating Orlando Pirates 2-0 in Saturday’s MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Teboho Mokoena put Sundowns ahead, and Iqraam Rayners settled the contest by converting a stoppage-time penalty. The result delivered Sundowns’ fifth MTN8 title, denied Pirates an unprecedented fifth consecutive triumph and ended the club’s wait for the trophy since 2021.

Cardoso’s work is not complete. The Betway Premiership, CAF Champions League, Nedbank Cup and Carling Knockout remain major objectives, while further international opportunities will depend on qualification and the relevant competition formats.

Managing a star-filled squad across several competitions will also demand tactical flexibility, effective rotation and a consistent ability to maintain focus.

That is the pressure attached to coaching Sundowns: success does not create room for complacency. Instead, it increases expectations.

Cardoso can now be judged on the trophies he has won, rather than only on the finals he has lost and the setbacks he has faced. But at Chloorkop, the decisive question is whether he can continue winning.

His next challenge is to turn an impressive run of success into sustained dominance.