Cardoso praises Khoza’s Sundowns revival after emotional Man of the Match display

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has praised Malibongwe Khoza’s resilience after the defender was named Man of the Match in Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Siwelele.

Khoza, 22, has established himself as an important member of the reigning champions’ squad, featuring in eight of their opening 10 matches this season.

His current position represents a major turnaround from last campaign, when he made only 10 starts and was sent to the DStv Diski Challenge squad towards the end of the season to obtain regular playing time.

After making a strong impression during pre-season, Khoza has regained his place in contention under Cardoso. He is now competing for defensive positions alongside Grant Kekana, Mothobi Mvala, Kegan Johannes, Khulumani Ndamane and the injured Keanu Cupido.

Cardoso said Khoza had endured a particularly difficult period last season before his persistence began to produce results.

“I want you to remember, last year, Mali almost stopped playing and he disappeared… but he didn’t disappear, but was probably getting some more maturity that he needed to now make him better,” said the Portuguese coach.

He pointed to the changing nature of selection at Sundowns, where even players who begin a season regularly can find themselves out of the starting line-up.

“Keagan was playing at the beginning of the season consistently and now he’s not in the team, sometimes small details take a player out or put a player in [the starting XI], not because we don’t believe in all of them, we do,” Cardoso added.

The coach said Khoza’s progress should not be viewed as complete, insisting that the defender and Sundowns’ other players still had significant room to improve.

“There’s still growth on Mali, there’s still a lot of growth on Ndamane also, all the young players on the team and on the others that are older there there’s still ambition to try and be better – we are not happy with the moment where we are,” he said.

“We still think we can do more, because even when you make 97 passes out of 100, it doesn’t mean those passes cannot be more forward or more in the right places, or more aggressive, or more… so that passes can give you more.”

Cardoso was especially pleased to see Khoza’s efforts recognised after recalling seeing him in tears during last season’s struggles.

“He had tough times last year, tough times – I saw him crying, believe me, I saw him crying,” Cardoso said. “But we always told him that the moments would appear, consistency would speak for him.”

Khoza’s strong pre-season, he added, gave the defender the energy needed to return to the first team.

Cardoso also underlined the importance of trust in a highly competitive Sundowns squad, where players can move quickly between the starting XI and the sidelines.

“We know Sundowns, it’s a very competitive environment, where you can be in but suddenly you can be out,” he said. “I have trust in them and if they trust me, which is an important value among us, if they trust, I give them the same trust back.”

Cardoso wants Khoza and the club’s other young players to aim for Bafana Bafana selection and, eventually, opportunities with bigger clubs and in better leagues.

“That’s how I see them. Progression, ambition, if they don’t have ambition they will stay where they are,” he said. “But he’s doing well and I’m happy with his Man of the Match.”