Sundowns urged to trust Cardoso’s youth rebuild after Arrows defeat

Mamelodi Sundowns should remain patient with head coach Miguel Cardoso as he reshapes the squad, says former defender Japie Motale.

The club’s uneven start to the 2026/27 season continued on Sunday when they suffered a 1-0 defeat by underdogs Golden Arrows at Lucas Moripe Stadium in the first leg of their MTN8 semi-final.

But Motale believes the result should be viewed in the wider context of Cardoso’s plans for the future, rather than as evidence that Sundowns are in serious decline.

The former defender began his career at the Tshwane giants before later moving to SuperSport United. He has called on the Masandawana supporters to back Cardoso as the Portuguese coach introduces younger players and prepares the squad for a new era at Chloorkop.

“What Sundowns are going through, I can’t really say it’s a bad patch. What the coach is doing needs a bit of patience, that’s all,” Motale told KickOff.

Motale said Sundowns’ supporters had become accustomed to regular victories, making any period of inconsistent results particularly difficult to accept.

However, he believes the side selected against Golden Arrows reflected the longer-term thinking of the coach.

“We are just too used to seeing Sundowns winning every weekend. Against Arrows, what we saw is the bigger vision of the Sundowns coach, judging by the team he fielded. If you check the contracts and the age of the Sundowns players who are playing regularly, you will realise that they are above 35, and they are remaining with one year. That’s why the coach is looking at young players right now,” he added.

Motale came through the Sundowns development system and said he understood the significance of giving academy players an opportunity at a club operating at the highest level.

He also argued that competitive fixtures, rather than friendly matches, are where young players must be assessed if Cardoso is to determine whether they can contribute to the first team.

“It’s transformation. I know nobody likes changes; the coach is looking at the future. The thing is, as a coach, you can’t try these youngsters in friendly games. You have to take risks in competitive matches for you to find out what these young boys are really bringing to the club. You need to test them in competitive matches,” Motale explained.

The former tough-tackling defender compared Cardoso’s situation with the early stages of Pitso Mosimane’s time in charge of Sundowns.

Mosimane went on to oversee one of the most successful periods in the club’s history, but Motale said that success also depended on refreshing the squad and allowing a new group of players time to settle.

He acknowledged that the transition could test the patience of supporters, particularly when it produces defeats in important matches, but insisted that rebuilding was unavoidable.

“It’s gonna be frustrating for the fans, but they need to understand that somewhere along the way, we were going to need to refresh the team. That’s one bullet you can’t dodge. For Pitso Mosimane to become successful at Sundowns, he had to refresh the team, and once the players settled, he never looked back,” he concluded.