Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has stressed the importance of a professional performance as his side prepare to face Angolan outfit Wiliete SC in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second preliminary round tie on Sunday.
The Brazilians travel to Angola looking to put themselves in a strong position ahead of the return leg in Pretoria, with Cardoso underlining the importance of both scoring and keeping a clean sheet away from home.
Cardoso is familiar with Angolan football, having previously visited the country during his time as an assistant coach at Sporting CP in Portugal, when the club faced Petro de Luanda in a friendly encounter.
“It’s been a long while since I was here, I was an assistant coach of Sporting, we played a friendly against Petro de Luanda, so being here is another opportunity, it’s an honour to be in Angola,” he said.
The Portuguese tactician acknowledged the quality of their opponents and insisted Sundowns would approach the two-legged encounter with the necessary respect, despite their ambitions of progressing to the next round.
“We understand the level of Wiliete, and the importance of this qualifying round over two legs. The first match, we must try not to concede and score, it’s important so then we can finish it in the home match in Pretoria,” Cardoso added.
“It’s one of the best clubs in the country, we understand very well the team we are playing against, we studied them very well, we face this qualifying round with respect. But at the same time, the respect is mutual, we respect ourselves.
“So we will try to put, and we will put the best we can on the pitch, we don’t take anything for granted, we understand how professional we have to be. It’s a team with quality players, so we need to be at our best level, and do everything in our reach. Our preparation has been okay and we hope to have a good match.”
Sundowns will be aiming to secure a positive result in Angola – before returning home for the second leg – with the game kicking off at 17h00 on Sunday.