Sundowns’ Cardoso dismisses Zwane selection pressure claims

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has dismissed suggestions that Themba Zwane’s return to the starting line-up against Ulsan HD was a response to public pressure following last month’s CAF Champions League final defeat to Pyramids FC.

Cardoso was speaking after The Brazilians opened their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Korean Republic side at the Inter & Co Stadium on Wednesday morning. Iqraam Rayners netted the only goal of the match in what was a lively and entertaining encounter.

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Zwane was a notable absentee during the two-legged final against Pyramids, a decision that drew widespread criticism from pundits and supporters alike. The exclusion of the experienced midfielder prompted strong reactions, with sections of the fanbase and even club legends going as far as to call for Cardoso’s dismissal.

Sundowns’ Cardoso – ‘No ghost from the past’

“Regarding Themba, there’s no ghost from the past on me at all. The pressure is from inside the club, the pressure is with my board and the players. That’s the pressure that the coach will have when he settles in a job like me,” Cardoso insisted.

 “What happened is that Themba had good two weeks of preparations and that is the respect that we need to have. People spoke a lot about that, and it seems that people didn’t understand that Themba comes from a moment of growth since he came back into the team.

“It’s important to give him the right opportunity so that he can perform and today was the right opportunity for him to play. I had no problems in putting him in even with having the risk of letting people think I’m putting him in because of pressure but it’s not.”

The victory puts Masandawana top of Group F with three points after Borussia Dortmund and Fluminense played to a goalless draw. Cardoso was understandably pleased with the performance of his charges against the reigning K League 1 champions.

‘Little details’

“We prepared tactically and strategically very well and we found the commitment between everyone and that was important to play according to the level of the pressure that we had,” Cardoso added.

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“It was important that we keep the pace and not move away from the game plan so that we can score the second goal but because of little details we could not do that. As time went by with the margin of 1-0, normally there’s an intention to keep the result.”