Cardoso hails Sundowns’ ‘amazing’ two-trophy start after MTN8 triumph

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso described his team’s success as “amazing” after they won the MTN8 title in front of a sold-out crowd at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Sundowns defeated the Buccaneers 2-0 in Saturday evening’s final to secure their first MTN8 trophy since 2021. The victory also means the club have won two trophies this season, having claimed the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup before the international break.

“So, I think it’s an amazing achievement and it’s fantastic to arrive in October with two trophies on the back,” Cardoso told SuperSport.

The Portuguese coach urged his players to remain focused, warning that their next challenges would arrive quickly.

“Now we need to keep humble, keep humble, keep working hard, keep thinking that if we don’t work hard, we’ll never achieve nothing because there’s already a match after tomorrow and then there’s the qualifying round for the Champions League that will be very tough,” Cardoso said.

Cardoso was also asked whether this was the strongest squad he had worked with at Sundowns.

He pointed to the attacking options now available to him, while emphasising the way his players approach competition.

“We have more options in terms of attack now,” he said.

“I think we need, I’m very happy firstly by the way the boys understand how they have to compete and it’s not who they are, it’s what they become when they compete and that is for us the most important thing.”