Mamelodi Sundowns have reached the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League for the third consecutive season, and head coach Miguel Cardoso believes a combination of values, quality, and hard work has driven the club’s sustained success on the continent.
The Brazilians secured their place in the last four after eliminating Stade Malien in the quarter-finals, and Cardoso was asked to explain what makes Sundowns such a reliable presence at the business end of Africa’s premier club competition.
For the Portuguese coach, it begins with culture.
“There are many things needed to achieve such a performance of course, you first need to develop a strong will, a strong desire, a strong commitment, a strong mindset, it has to do with values that you have to develop inside a club,” Cardoso said.
But Cardoso was quick to point out that values alone are not enough without the playing resources to back them up.
“There are no values that are not sustained on quality, so it means throughout this last generations, there has been capacity from the club to seduce and attract and be able to pay players that can sustain the level that can arrive at that point,” he said.
“There’s for sure coaches and staff that worked in the previous [times] with the capacity to guide those teams to these moments, for sure in some years there were moments of things falling on the right side and not the wrong one. Luck is also something that needs to exist in football.”
However, Cardoso was clear that fortune is only one small piece of a much larger puzzle when it comes to explaining Sundowns’ continental dominance.
“Usually we say luck needs a lot of work, so there are a lot of things that’s important together in order to arrive at this stage [of the Champions League] consistently as you say – to appear once it can happen, to be there systematically is another thing, it speaks for itself, it speaks to the greatness and the level that has to be there permanently, rebuilt, reorganised, re-energised for the standard inside the club,” Cardoso said.
[Image Credit: Lebogang Tsotsetsi]
That sentiment was echoed by defender Keagan Johannes, who joined the club from SuperSport United, knowing full well what the expectations were from day one.
“As a player, coming from outside, joining Mamelodi Sundowns, you already know what is expected from you based on the history of the club, and the philosophy of the club, you know the club has been systematically, in the Champions League, competing and that doesn’t come overnight,” Johannes said.
“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into it, sleepless nights, studying, watching games, consistently trying to improve, it’s just a lot of work, dedication that goes into it and also discipline because to reach that level, to be at your best you need to be disciplined as well.”
The former Ajax Cape Town talent went on to state the responsibility of carrying the club’s continental ambitions also becomes a personal motivator for every player who pulls on the famous yellow and blue jersey.
“For us as players, coming into the club – you have already been identified, you know this is what I’m going up against, this is what I have to do – to make sure that the club continues to thrive and continue in the right direction,” Johannes concluded.
Sundowns now face Espérance in the semi-finals, leading 1-0 from the first leg played in Tunis, as they chase a place in the Champions League final for the second successive season.
