Cardoso: Sundowns must match Al Ahli’s quality, not their budget

Mamelodi Sundowns will make their FIFA Intercontinental Cup debut against Asian Champions and big spenders Al Ahli at Loftus Stadium on Saturday, but coach Cardoso insists the financial disparity between the teams will have no bearing once the match begins.

Speaking to the media at Chloorkop on Friday morning, the Portuguese-born coach said his players would need to match their opponents’ intensity and quality on the pitch rather than be distracted by Al Ahli’s spending power.

Before discussing the match, Cardoso offered his condolences to the families of women who lost their lives in Gauteng over the past week. He said the tragedy had affected his own family personally after they recently suffered a loss.

“Just before you speak about that, let me leave a word for the families of the ladies that unfortunately were murdered and found dead,” Cardoso said.

“We feel this moment also very deeply because we also lost someone very important in the family recently. We would like to leave our solidarity to the families, to the beloved ones, and to make a strong appeal for South Africa to react in the right way. Everybody should take care until we can close this situation.”

Cardoso described Saturday’s fixture as an occasion that extended beyond the competition itself, calling on the country to unite behind the African champions.

“Everybody understands that this goes beyond the Club World Cup. This is not a democratic competition where you have a lot of teams playing,” he said.

“It’s a very, very, very high-level standard where Sundowns puts the name and we should all feel proud of that. It’s a moment for South Africa to be united and enjoy this possibility.

“Not always do you have an African champion, and obviously an African champion can have or gets the right to be at this level. We feel very proud. We as a club feel very proud, we as players feel very proud and we as coaching staff feel privileged to achieve such a level.”

Al Ahli’s squad includes Ivan Toney, Edouard Mendy and Francisco Trincao, but Cardoso said Sundowns were aiming to compete rather than simply take part.

“We don’t want just to participate. We want to compete at the highest level we can. It’s a good opportunity for us to push ourselves to the limit,” he said.

“Al Ahli is a powerhouse, but budgets don’t play. As soon as the referee blows the whistle, what will speak for the result is the effort and the quality of the game both teams can put in.”

Cardoso also used a pre-season meeting with Al-Hilal to underline the need for total concentration.

“We need to be 100% focused. Ninety-nine per cent will not be enough because these players can decide games from one situation,” he said.

“We played quite well against Al-Hilal, but from two counter-attacks we suffered two goals. We need to control everything, be very strong and resilient, and have the people cheering us on to bring extra energy throughout the match.”