Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso praised Nuno Santos for responding to a difficult period away from the squad with a match-winning performance against Al Ahli Jeddah.
Santos returned to the starting line-up for the first time after being left out of the Sundowns squad recently, with reports suggesting the Portuguese midfielder had been unsettled amid uncertainty over his future.
However, he put those distractions behind him in spectacular fashion, scoring both goals as Sundowns defeated Al Ahli 2-1 on Saturday to win the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup 2026, with Santos also earning the Man of the Match award.
Cardoso revealed that the decision to bring Santos back into the team came after a series of conversations between the pair and a noticeable change in the player’s mindset.
“Sometimes we play cards, we expect them to go well and they go wrong, other times we play cards, we have expectations to go well and they go well, I always say we are not magicians, but sometimes we can make magic and the players can do magic,” Cardoso said.
“I think what happened today was that they embraced each other, Nuno had his moment, it was not an easy moment and it’s not important to speak about it today, what is important is that he has a smile on his face today.
“And because he found that smile, I felt confident to put him to play – so I did give him an opportunity to play, to have a smile, he smiled, he embraced the team, he embraced the teammates.”
Cardoso also revealed that Santos had made a commitment to put the team’s needs ahead of the individual situation.
“We had many talks and he said, ‘coach I will give the team what the team needs from me and it’s there I will prove that I am with guys all the way’.”
For Sundowns, Santos’ return could hardly have been scripted better, with the 2-1 victory over Al Ahli delivering another piece of international silverware and providing the midfielder with the perfect response on his return to the starting XI.
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