Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has offered his perspective on CAF Champions League winners having to compete in the preliminary rounds of the competition, insisting that clubs must respect the rules in place.
Masandawana lifted the continental crown last season but have still had to navigate the qualifying stages in their bid to defend their title, with Williete SC standing between them and progression to the group stages.
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The format differs from the UEFA Champions League, where the reigning champions do not have to go through qualifying rounds, prompting questions about the demands placed on African champions.
However, Cardoso believes the focus should be on understanding and competing within the existing regulations rather than questioning them.
“I had the pleasure to meet, informally at some events that we were together, a coach Juanma Lillo. He was an assistant coach of Pep Guardiola and a coach in Spain and in other countries. He always said, ‘The game is played under the rules it has,'” Cardoso said.
“As much as we understand the rules, the better we settle the game. Here it’s exactly the same. I don’t have an opinion [on Champions playing preliminary rounds], the rules are there. In Europe, the Champions League winner doesn’t play qualifying rounds.
“But rules are rules and we play the rules we have.”
The Portuguese tactician also drew comparisons with South African football, pointing to the different formats used across the country’s domestic cup competitions.
Cardoso highlighted the MTN8, Carling Knockout and Nedbank Cup as examples of competitions that each have their own regulations and methods of determining match-ups.
“Here in South Africa, there are three different competitions that are cups with such different rules. We play MTN8, just eight teams playing, then Carling is a draw where the bottom play the top,” he explained.
“Then we have Nedbank and everyone can be drawn. Every competition has its own rules, we stick to the rules, we do our best and that’s how we’re going to compete.”
Sundowns are now focused on securing their place in the CAF Champions League group stages as they look to build on last season’s success and pursue back-to-back continental titles.