Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has defended his squad against suggestions that the team may lack the desire to compete at the highest level after reaching the pinnacle of African football last season.
The Brazilians suffered a 3-1 defeat to USM Alger in the CAF Super Cup, adding to their disappointment of being eliminated from the CAF Champions League by Angolan side Williete SC last month.
- ALSO READ: Williams – This One Will Hurt For A Very Long Time
- Komphela – This Is Breakfast For Champions
The successive setbacks have raised questions about whether Sundowns need to refresh their squad, particularly after winning the Champions League last season.
However, Cardoso believes the current squad should not be judged against the team that reached back-to-back Champions League finals and successive semi-finals, highlighting the number of experienced players who have since departed or become unavailable.
“That could be an analysis done very quickly by looking at the CAF results, I don’t think it’s fair to take it literally,” Cardoso said when asked by iDiski Times whether the squad needs an influx of new players.
“Obviously, what is honest is if we make an analysis, take a look at the team that played the two finals of the Champions League and the two semi-finals, and probably look at the team that played today, you see it’s not the same team, it’s another team.
“We have lost a lot of players, but we cannot complain. We know we are rebuilding, we know we have quality. Obviously, here and there, we don’t have maturity, which is different. Quality is one thing; maturity is another to play these matches.”
The Portuguese tactician acknowledged that Sundowns had reached a different level of maturity during their successful continental campaign last season but believes that experience needs to be developed again within the current group.
“Of course, we understood that last year, we achieved the pinnacle of maturity, and it’s something that needs to be rebuilt. The team showed hunger, quality, we played international matches at a high level and will play more.
“But we know there’s a lot of youth. The centre-backs today were 22 and 23, and you go one by one and you see. Of course, when you lose immediately a Nuno Santos, that’s experience, used to these kinds of environments, you lose Brayan León.”
‘This team has nothing to do with last year’
Cardoso also pointed to the circumstances surrounding the Super Cup defeat, suggesting the spine of the squad, that was crucial to their recent success has been affected.
“Iqraam always does his best, did well, but we had two losses to the [starting] XI in the 15 minutes of the game and if you add to it all the players that are out, obviously it’s tough. The match was played under special circumstances with Ronwen and Teboho just coming back,” he said.
“The absences we have from Keanu [Cupido], [Khuliso] Mudau, the late Jayden [Adams], all those were very important players, with Nuno and Brayan. If you take them out, look really well at the team, this team has nothing to do with last year.”
Despite collecting two trophies during the current campaign, Cardoso admitted that the defeat against the Algerians was particularly disappointing, especially because he believed Sundowns had enough quality to secure another continental title.
“So, it’s a rebuilding process. But obviously, when you rebuild over more victories, it’s fantastic, which we had a few, as it’s clear, two trophies collected at this point of the season that we wanted. But I feel very disappointed today, I have to confess.
“When I studied this team, I understood it’s a strong one, but the analysis in general of them was not even respectful, because you just look at who they were before, but I felt we had the conditions to win.
“If we’re honest in the analysis and look at the Sundowns team, with the players we have that want to play the game and pass between themselves, Siyanda, Tashreeq, Antonio, Marcelo, players who are fragile in physical dimensions, to play on a pitch like this doesn’t take us to the right place to play the game, but we could have done better.
“Now it’s time to continue to work. There’s a lot of things to do and I feel we will do many beautiful things in the future.”