Mamelodi Sundowns head coach says he is proud of his squad but collectively they are not happy after the 4-3 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at the FIFA Club World Cup.
Sundowns started the match as Group F leaders after the 1-0 win over Ulsan HD, while Dortmund and Fluminense played out to a 0-0 draw.
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And what was produced at the TQL Stadium was a joy for the neutrals in a seven-goal thriller that was eventually edged the Bundesliga side.
But there was a certain level of disappointment from the group, with Ronwen Williams, Marcelo Allende, Thapelo Morena and Tashreeq Matthews starting in the mixed zone they felt they could have got more from the game.
This was echoed by Cardoso in the post-match press conference, with the group now wide open going into their third game next week against Fluminense at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
“We made one season playing our style of football and didn’t make one single mistake, today we made two on build-up, do you think I have any capacity to complain about my players when they gave me so much? For one mistake,” he asked.
“Football is a game of mistakes, I have made many mistakes when I choose players, there’s more than 15-20 players I can’t play, so there’s mistakes. So I support these players highly, that’s what I did at half time.
“Most of my talk was to support the players, sitting by their side, saying let’s do this together because it would be very easy to penalise a player like Teboho, but how can I penalise a player that has an intentionality to well but the level of pressure is so much higher in games like this.
“The number of pressures they are submitted to is so high, that mistakes can happen, so I supported the boys – there’s no other way in this club, with me, until the end, it’s just support and then training, and support and training.
“How can I build trust that when there’s a mistake I don’t give them trust? As much as you give the most I give back…. that’s my approach.”
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