Sundowns boss Cardoso says Reisinho struggled to adapt to South Africa

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says Miguel Reisinho’s unsuccessful spell at the club was caused by difficulties adapting to life in South Africa, rather than any lack of footballing ability.

Cardoso was speaking after Sundowns beat Golden Arrows 3-2 in the second leg of their MTN8 semi-final in Durban. The result came as the Portuguese coach explained why foreign players must embrace local culture if they are to establish themselves at the Tshwane club.

He used Sundowns’ new head of performance, who has arrived from Brazil, as an example of how quickly a newcomer can adjust when they approach the experience with the right attitude.

“You know this week we received our new head of performance, because you know Mathias Zangenberg left the club at the end of the previous season and he comes from Brazil, he is a high level professional, but it’s his first experience abroad, so his first week he looks like a fish out of the ocean, but his intention to adapt is so strong that it will be very quick. Regarding players you need to be open hearted to adapt to a country that is completely different from you, you need to embrace the difference and enjoy it.”

The 54-year-old, who has previously worked in Ukraine, France, Spain, Greece and Tunisia, said his own experiences abroad had taught him to value cultural differences.

“I have obviously a lot of experience of being abroad, I’ve been in Ukraine, I’ve been in France, in Spain, in Greece, in Tunisia, here, I love the difference, I love the difference, because I think the difference makes me a better human being, but I need to embrace it,” said the Portuguese coach.

Cardoso believes foreign players must be willing to accept differences in food, music and everyday life instead of resisting them.

“…that you are different from me, that you drink and eat different food, you listen to different music, you enjoy different… but I love that, sometimes I ask, ‘take me to some place that I don’t know where I can feel this comfortable’ because I love that environment, but you really need to have that mindset.”

He warned that players who reject elements of South African culture can make their own integration increasingly difficult.

“If you start denying everything, you start denying the music, you don’t dance in the locker room, you don’t absorb the things that are so beautiful in South Africa, it will be daily more difficult for you. Then the rest will appear, because Sundowns never brings a player that has no quality, never, it never happens. He may even not perform, but it’s not because he doesn’t have quality, because the process is taken to the limit in order to be sure that the guy that comes is able to do that.”

Cardoso also pointed to the differences between football in Portugal and South Africa, including the playing surfaces and the pace of matches.

“When you come to South Africa, it’s quite different, and you know that in Portugal you never play a game in a dry pitch, never. So the game is much quicker, but also there are other things that here, the rhythm here sometimes is very high, because the game is here and there, here and there, here and there, the tempo of the game in Portugal is different, it’s more brutal, so it means that sometimes the profile of a player is obviously suitable or not, but what speaks for a player is what he has here [in the mind].”

Cardoso said Reisinho was not mentally weak, but suggested he had not been able to adapt sufficiently to the demands of being at Sundowns and waiting for an opportunity.

“I’m not saying that Miguel was weak [mentally], because he was not weak, but the level of capacity of adaptation probably was not enough for him to really make the things, because then you need to understand that resilience or negativity is very important. How am I going to handle one month without playing? And will I be ready to be stronger on the moment of the opportunity or no?”

He cited Fawaaz Basadien as an example of a player who continued working despite having limited opportunities the previous season.

“One guy today, you saw Fawaaz [Basadien] playing, the level that he showed, but last year he almost didn’t play. Maybe even he was with a step out of the club, I’m saying maybe, I’m not saying that is correct, because it was not, but people thought that he would go away. But how he showed commitment to start the season and excel himself and try to be better than the others and at the same time being friends, it’s amazing.”

Cardoso also praised the relationship between Sundowns forwards Brayan Leon, Iqraam Rayners and Lebo Mothiba, who compete for places while supporting one another.

“I love to see, for example, Brayan [Leon] and Iqraam [Rayners] and Lebo Mothiba fighting together, because they support each other as much as they are competitors between themselves. And this is in spirit, because in the end when you win everybody gets better.”

The manager added that even the world’s biggest clubs make unsuccessful signings, and said the key for Sundowns was to keep the number of transfers that fail to a minimum.

“And we know that out of five, six transfers, maybe one or two will not take the level that we want. But if we make it right on four, it will be fantastic. But if you go to the biggest clubs in the world, it’s the same. You go to City, they also fail. The question is not if you’re going to fail, because everyone is going to fail. The question is, we cannot fail too much. Which level is acceptable to fail? Or which level is not acceptable? And then that will speak for us.”