New Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has addressed the club’s captaincy for the remainder of the season, indicating a potential shift in leadership.
Cardoso has taken over the coaching job at Sundowns following the sacking of Manqoba Mngqithi alongside his assistant coach Romain Folz and goalkeeper coach Wendell Robinson.
‘The Brazilians’ announced the arrival of Cardoso on Tuesday to replace Mngqithi. The former Golden Arrows coach was in the hot seat for over five months.
Mngqithi was fired after Sundowns’ inconsistent start to the 2024/25 season. Downs lost in the final of the Carling Knockout Cup against new Betway Premiership side Magesi FC. Earlier in the campaign, Masandawana were eliminated from the 2024 MTN8 semi-final by Stellenbosh FC. Stellies won the two-legged semi-final with a 1-0 scoreline home and away.
Sundowns have also had a slow start in the CAF Champions League group stages after failing to collect maximum points in their last two matches. They played to a frustrating goalless draw against AS Maniema Union in the first match of group stages before playing a 1-1 draw against AS FAR away from home.
CARDOSO WANTS A CAPTAIN THAT HELPS THE TEAM DEAL WITH REFEREES AND OPPONENTS
In a move to turn their fortunes, Sundowns management roped in Miguel Cardoso as the head coach. The former Esperance mentor has revealed that he wants the captain who has the profile to help the coach lead the team.
Themba Zwane has served as the club’s captain in recent seasons, while Ronwen Williams is the vice-captain.
“I like to have a captain that has the profile to help the coach to lead the team in terms of helping the team inside the pitch regarding behaviour,” Cardoso said.
“And I’m speaking about normal behaviour as a player, the relation with opponents, themselves and referees. But I also like that every player here has the attitude of a captain. Everybody takes responsibility, not only the captain because I believe the best thing can be done if we work with a collective attitude.
“When there’s an intervention from the captain or one of the captains, either Themba, Ronwen, Teboho [Mokoena] or Denis [Onyango], it’s because they want to shape the character of the group, so if the character is shaped, They [captains] won’t need to intervene.”
Miguel Cardoso will lead Sundowns for the first time when they face Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League group stages encounter at Loftus Stadium on Sunday.
RELATED STORY: Nkosinathi Sibisi opens up on Pirates captaincy mission
