Cardoso says Sundowns stayed true to themselves in Pirates win

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso admitted he was aware of his side’s record against Orlando Pirates before their MTN8 final, but insisted it was not allowed to influence preparations for the match.

Sundowns beat Pirates 2-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Cardoso’s first domestic cup final, ending the Buccaneers’ dominance in the competition.

Since joining Sundowns at Chloorkop in December 2024, the Portuguese coach has lost only once in seven matches against Pirates. He was also mindful that Sundowns had not been beaten by their rivals in open play.

The Wafa Wafa triumph took Cardoso’s trophy tally to four. However, he said the focus before the final had been on ensuring his players were ready to compete rather than relying on their previous results.

“Yeah, obviously we need to know everything that we did before, the past steps where we stand,” said Cardoso.

“I knew that before this match, obviously, I didn’t speak about it, and I don’t think it will condition what comes ahead.”

Cardoso praised the work carried out throughout Sundowns, from the management and coaching staff to the wider support team, while highlighting the determination shown by his players.

“What is important to understand is obviously when you walk through matches and you can state yourself in a platform like this one obviously, it fits by the quality of the work that is done on the club, from the management to the coaching staff, to all the staff around us, and to the players, especially my players were very, very determined today.”

He said he had asked Sundowns to control the game in a way that suited their identity, rather than allowing the contest to develop in circumstances that made it more difficult for them.

“I told them that we had to take the match as much as we could to the place where we want to play it, because playing it in another platform that doesn’t characterize us makes it more difficult for us.”

The coach added that Sundowns would need to improve further if they were to maintain their winning form, while stressing that attractive football alone would not be sufficient at the highest level.

“And I think in the future, if we want to have better results or keep having victories, we need to play even more and better. But we knew that we have to compete. You cannot only be romantic to play the game and not be able to compete in the highest level.”

Cardoso said the champions understood the demands of competing domestically and internationally, identifying organisation, commitment, determination and physical strength as key elements behind their performances.

“So, there are values, there’s organization, there’s determination, there’s commitment, there’s physicality that is behind. But then always think about how you want to play, the way we want to play, as much as we are loyal to ourselves.”