Mamelodi Sundowns’ newly-appointed head coach, Miguel Cardoso, has spoken out on his new role, stressing that people must not judge his CV solely on his trophy wins.
Cardoso has taken over as the head coach at Sundowns after Manqoba Mngqithi was unexpectedly fired just a few months into the 2024/25 Betway Premiership season.
Mngqithi is leaving the Brazilians after spending over a decade at the club. The KZN-born coach signed with Sundowns in 2013 to serve as the assistant coach of the then-head coach Pitso Mosimane.
After Mosimane left Sundowns for Al Ahly in 2020, Mngqithi assumed the co-coaching role alongside Rulani Mokwena. The co-coaching arrangement was dismantled in 2022, with Mokwena leading Downs as the sole head coach.
Despite winning two league titles and the African Football League [AFL], Mokwena parted ways with Sundowns in July 2024.
Meanwhile, Mngqithi, the senior coach under the tenure of Mokwena, was shown the exit door, and he was replaced by Portuguese coach – Cardoso.
WHAT DID NEW MAMELODI SUNDOWNS COACH MIGUEL CARDOSO SAY ABOUT WINNING TROPHIES?
Cardoso shared a bizarre view after he was unveiled at Sundowns on Tuesday, revealing that his profile as a coach must not be judged by winning trophies.
The 52-year-old was last in charge of Esperance De Tunis, where he was fired in October 2024 following an inconsistent start to the campaign with the Tunisian giants.
According to Transfermarkt, Cardoso played 115 matches in his career, won 43 games, drew 28 and lost 44 times. Cardoso has won only one trophy in his coaching career after winning the league title with Esperance last season.
“It’s really an interesting conversation [about winning trophies] because we live in a society where people judge the CV by the trophies. But sometimes they forget that in order to win, not only do you need to be in a context where you can truly fight to win, but also you are in a context where winning is not really getting trophies,” Cardoso said.
“For example, I have four finals of big competitions at club level; we won zero. I’m speaking about youth league, Under-19 at Shakhtar Donetsk, I’m speaking about the Europa League with FC Braga, and I’m speaking of a final of the CAF Champions League with Esperance.
“Being in the final of those trophies is so big; when you look at my CV, don’t judge me because we lost those games, but judge me because we arrived there.”
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