Motsepe says Cardoso’s courage earned Sundowns’ long-term backing

Mamelodi Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe says the club chose to keep head coach Miguel Cardoso because he had given the team the freedom and bravery to compete at the highest level.

The decision came under scrutiny after Sundowns were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Pyramids in the CAF Champions League final at the end of the 2024/25 season. The result disappointed supporters and left Cardoso’s position under considerable pressure.

However, Motsepe said the club had to consider the progress made under the Portuguese coach before deciding whether to make another change.

“The important factor was the feeling I had, to say, ‘Can we really release somebody in a short space, in this bumpy period… He took us to the final of the CAF Champions League (in 2025), which we had not been for the past nine years. Do we let go of somebody, who allowed our players to express themselves,’” Motsepe said in an interview on Mamelodi Sundowns’ official YouTube Channel.

He also pointed to the way Sundowns performed at the FIFA Club World Cup as evidence that Cardoso had helped the players develop a more adventurous style.

“And to play with such bravery at the (FIFA) Club World Cup, if we’re just going through this period right now?” Motsepe added.

“Football is a passion-driven business, we live and die by the passion of the game. We’re all in this game because of passion but it’s very important sometimes to be able to remove yourself and assess the bigger picture.”

Motsepe said dismissing Cardoso could have affected Sundowns’ chances of achieving further success, including winning the CAF Champions League and the CAF African-Asian Pacific Cup.

“If we had let go of Coach Miguel at that time, who knows if we would have got the Champions League or the (FIFA) African-Asian Pacific Cup,” he said.

He added that Sundowns had identified qualities in the team’s Club World Cup performances which represented something different from what the club had shown previously.

“What I did believe in at that time was the fact that there were elements that we saw at the Club World Cup, that just showed us a Shoeshine and Piano, the Mamelodi Sundowns that was touching something we had not really touched or embodied before,” Motsepe said.

The decision to retain Cardoso followed another major coaching change at Sundowns. The club had previously relieved Rulani Mokwena of his duties despite him winning the Betway Premiership with a record points tally and guiding the team to victory in the inaugural African Football League.

Sundowns indicated that failing to reach the CAF Champions League final was the main reason for Mokwena’s departure. In hindsight, the decision to allow Cardoso to continue was vindicated when the former Esperance coach inspired the club to win the CAF Champions League for the second time in ten years.