"We need to honour the badge we have and play to win every match," Cardoso said.
Miguel Cardoso, Head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns Photo: Nabil Ramdani/BackpagePix
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is determined to ensure the Brazilians do not suffer another trophyless campaign on the domestic front.
Sundowns endured a frustrating 2025/26 season in the cup competitions, suffering three knockout exits before eventually relinquishing the Betway Premiership title to Orlando Pirates.
The Brazilians were eliminated from the MTN8 by Pirates on penalties following a two-legged semi-final before suffering a similar fate against Marumo Gallants in the last 16 of the Carling Knockout. Their Nedbank Cup campaign also ended at the last-16 stage after they lost 2-0 to TS Galaxy.
“We need to honour the badge we have and play to win every match. Last season, unfortunately we went out of cup competitions twice by penalties,” Cardoso said to the club’s media.
“Let’s hope this year we can take the competition to 90 minutes so that we don’t need to go to moments where things can fall for other teams.”
Sundowns were granted special leave from the opening round of Betway Premiership fixtures at the weekend following the tragic passing of midfielder Jayden Adams.
Their clash against Marumo Gallants was subsequently postponed to August 19, meaning Masandawana will begin their campaign on Saturday when they welcome Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarter-final.
Cardoso expects a difficult test against Polokwane, but insists Sundowns must focus on making a strong start themselves.
“Polokwane City is a tough opponent, and we played them towards the end of last season. They have a new coach and new dynamics for sure,” Cardoso added.
“We have to worry about how we can start stronger ourselves in the first match. Mentally, deal with the difficulties that the match will have.
“Most of all, deal with the objectives that we have. The objectives are clear and we need to play every match to win.”
The Portuguese tactician was speaking after Sundowns concluded their pre-season tour of Austria, where they drew 1-1 with German side Hertha Berlin, lost 2-0 to Karim Benzema’s Al-Hilal and drew 1-1 with Algerian giants MC Alger.
They rounded off the tour with an emphatic 7-0 victory over Qatar side Al-Sailiya as Cardoso used the matches to assess his squad ahead of the new campaign.
“We played some tough opponents along the way and had positive outcomes. We had to deal with different situations,” Cardoso concluded.
“We worked every day with a strong development of the team and gathering energy for physical development and team building, while receiving the new players and making them feel part of the family.”
