Sekhukhune United defender Daniel Cardoso says he’s never allowed the criticism he faced at Kaizer Chiefs to get to him mentally and is relishing the chance of a new start.
Cardoso, 33, was released by Chiefs after seven seasons at the club but was quickly snapped up by Sekhukhune on a three-year deal during the off-season.
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While he had good moments during his time at Amakhosi, he left like many others during the recent era, without winning silverware and was one of the highly criticised figures amongst the Amakhosi faithful.
Having endured social media abuse and insults from supporters on and off the field, the former Free State Stars defenders say it’s not something that bothered him that much as he knew he was good enough to be a professional footballer.
“Look you don’t let it get to you mentally, if they were good enough they would be on the field, they would be doing my job and I’d be watching them from the stands,” Cardoso said.
“So I don’t take them… it doesn’t get to my head, I mean if it did, I’ve seen a lot of players where it does get to them and they fall away, so you have to be strong mentally, if you not, you’re screwed.
“Guys can swear at me and do what they want it doesn’t get to me. As I said, I’m on the field, where are they?”
Cardoso, who has two senior caps for the South Africa national team admitted that the move to Babina Noko has alleviated a lot of pressure and anxiety from his day-to-day life and explained how intense it could be during his time with the Soweto giants.
“The eyes always aren’t you, there’s a bit of freedom, it’s not 24/7 where they’re on your back, you can go to the garage and you know, it’s nicer. There at Chiefs when you lose a game and go to the garage, you have to put a mask on, you have to put a hat on, so it’s difficult you know,” he said.
“We’re still growing here, the crowds aren’t as big, so mentality wise [for me] I think it will be a little be better, mentality wise, you can enjoy your game with less pressure, I think that’s important.”
Cardoso made his debut for the Limpopo-based outfit in the 1-1 draw against Maritzburg United on Saturday and will be aiming to retain his place in the side against Golden Arrows on Wednesday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium (19h30).
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