Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has tipped star player Lucas Ribeiro Costa to be a high level player following his heroics at the weekend.
Ribeiro netted the only goal of the match as Sundowns narrowly edged Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in their blockbuster Betway Premiership clash at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday to open up an 18-point gap at the top following Orlando Pirates’ shock 1-0 defeat to Marumo Gallants.
The Portuguese mentor was in high praise for the Brazilian attacker and admitted that as much as he hopes Ribeiro stays at the club longer, he will have to be a high-level player in future which could be away from the club.
“Lucas is no doubt a quality player, but he’s also a player that needs freshness,” Cardoso said.
“I think he’s a player that is very explosive and to be explosive you need freshness.
“And he’s trying to cope with the effort that he’s been doing, and the best way we’re trying to let him be as more to recover as much as possible between matches, but it has been very tough for him.
“Because explosive players are the ones that suffer more from fatigue, and he lives from these explosive actions.
Check out today’s Betway Premiership fixtures and the updated log in our match centre.
“And I think he’s doing less numbers of explosive actions due to the fact that he’s tired.
“But once he does, he does it in quality and today he had a couple of them and two fantastic individual tactical execution, he made a wonderful goal. He really put it in the right way
“I hope he makes more years in the club, but I also hope one day he can express himself in a higher level of course.
“A coach always wants best for the players, and I always tell them, ‘I love to work with whoever you are, but in the end, if you can go for better, just go please’!”
