Head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns Miguel Cardoso have expressed his delight after steering his outfit to the quarterfinal of the CA Champions League, stressing the side is a hell of a group of players.
The South African giants and 2016 champions triumphed over the Algeria club 2-0 to finish second in Group C behind Sudanese giants in Al Hilal.
This was a massive result especially after the suspension of performance analyst Mario Masha who reportedly leaked Sundowns’ tactics to MC Alger trainer Rhulani Mokwena in the previous fixture.
Having secured a place in the knockout stages, Cardoso has expressed his joy, while aiming to impress as the competition unfolds.
“I want to remind you also that this team MC Alger is a very strong team, they just won a trophy in Algeria, but I want to mostly remind you that Mamelodi Sundowns is a hell of a group of players and a hell of a club, and our fans are fantastic,” Cardoso said after the game.
“I think that there was a lot of analysis of the pressure that was on our side, but sometimes the pressure of having to win is not smaller than the pressure of not being able to lose.”
“Because one goal can put the pressure on the other side very strongly and much more aggressive than it’s on us, and that’s what happened.
“We knew we had to put the pressure on the other side, the team understood that very well, and I think it was very difficult for MC Alger to deal with that pressure throughout the match.
“Because our boys were so committed on not showing any possibility for the opponent to score against us, and I want to remind you that last year this team made a very good Champions League, going up to the final.
“And the way we gathered the emotions throughout the match was very important for us to stay committed to our values, and to double the energy to proceed to the quarterfinals.”
