Mamelodi Sundowns playmaker Nuno Santos admits the amount of duels in games is something he’s getting to grips about football in Africa, since his arrival at the club.
Santos has been a revelation for Sundowns in the CAF Champions League with eight goal involvements in eight games as they look on course to reach the semi-finals of the competition.
He provided to sensational assists in the 3-0 win over Stade Malien at Loftus Versfeld on Friday evening, handing them a major advantage for the second leg quarter-final in Bamako, Mali – next week.
But Santos, who was lured in Chloorkop from Vitória Guimarães SC in Portugal in a reported R20-million transfer has been questioned about his work-rate and defensive actions in midfield in his arrival, which he admits he’s working on.
“I think in football, people want players who can do everything, they want players who can defend, assist, can score, can win duels, we’re all different, especially in Sundowns – we have players that can defend, players that can pass, players than assist and score,” Santos said.
“I’m an offensive players, obviously I’m not going to the be the best defender in the world, but I give my best defensively every game and I think I’m improving as well, it’s one of the aspects here in South Africa that is different in Europe.
“There’s a lot of duels and the pitch doesn’t help, and that makes the game have more duels than usual – but I’m an offensive player, I will always be but I’m trying to improve that part as well [of my game].”
Overall, Santos has featured 21 times for Sundowns, scoring four goals, with seven assists.
