Cardoso says every Sundowns fixture now feels like a final

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says the club’s demanding schedule has turned each match into a must-win occasion as they pursue success in several competitions.

Sundowns face Wiliete Sport Clube de Benguela in the second leg of their CAF Champions League tie on Friday, with the first meeting ending goalless in Angola last Sunday.

The winners will advance to the group stage. A 0-0 draw would send the tie to a penalty shootout, while a draw featuring goals would see Mamelodi Sundowns eliminated.

The fixture is the latest in a demanding run for the Tshwane club, who have already lifted the African-Asian-Pacific Cup and the MTN8 this season. Their participation in the league has also placed them in three further competitions.

The Carling Knockout begins for Sundowns on Tuesday, before they return to continental action in the CAF Super Cup final on November 8. The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is scheduled to follow in December.

Cardoso said the club’s run of decisive matches had begun soon after his arrival.

“We have been playing final after final since we got here and since the season started,” he said, looking ahead to the meeting with Wiliete Sport Clube de Benguela.

He described the Champions League tie, as well as the matches against Carling Knockout and CAF Super Cup opponents, in the same terms.

“The analysis of this match, just like the one we will play on Tuesday and the one the following week (CAF Super Cup), is a final,” Cardoso said.

“We have been playing final after final since we arrived here and since the season started, and that is exactly the sense that we have and it is the reality.

“So, it is a competition set in stages and there is always a point in the different stages before it becomes a final.”

Cardoso recalled that Sundowns were faced with a similarly significant match against Raja Casablanca at home when he first joined the club.

“When I arrived at Sundowns, we had to play a ‘final’ match against Raja Casablanca at home, and it has been like that,” he said.

“It is the story of teams that fight to win everything and want to be at the highest stages.”

With the tie finely balanced after the first leg, Cardoso stressed the importance of understanding the consequences of every possible result.

“We know that if we win, we go through, if we draw 0-0, we go for penalties, and if we draw with goals, we are out,” he said.