Defender Mosa Lebusa has highlighted how Miguel Cardoso has helped Mamelodi Sundowns realise their full potential in the CAF Champions League.
Masandawana are set for the second-leg of their CAF Champions League quarterfinal against Esperance on Tuesday at 21h00 at the Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi in Tunis.
The first-leg which was played in Pretoria last Tuesday ended 1-0 in favour of Sundowns. Peter Shalulile scored the priceless goal for the serial Betway Premiership winners.
At the end, the clash was marred by crowd trouble, as fans from both teams went berserk and fought in the stands at the Loftus Stadium.
This has all but created massive tension ahead of the second-leg. Crucially, both teams are confident of gaining passage into the semi-finals, where they will face either Al Ahly or Al Hilal.
WHAT DEFENDER MOSA LEBUSA SAID ABOUT MIGUEL CARDOSO
And Mamelodi Sundowns defender Lebusa reckons coach Cardoso’s vast experience has made a difference for the team.
Cardoso was in charge of Esperance at this stage last season as he helped them reach the final. But they lost to Al Ahly.
“I think every coach is different with their philosophies. But we’re lucky enough to have a coach who played the final last season,” Lebusa said.
“He’s helping us, you know, he’s making us realise our true potential, not to say the other coaches didn’t do that. But he’s different in his own way. We’re focusing on trying to be better than we were in the previous seasons.
“So in that regard, he’s really leading us. And the other coaches also did a good job, but right now we are focusing on the present.”
Sundowns are aware of how difficult it is to face the Tunisian giants at home. They lost 1-0 in the semi-finals last season.
CARDOSO IN BULLISH MOOD
However, Cardoso is upbeat ahead of the duel. He said: “Obviously, that will to win obliges you to have a proper level of preparation. There’s no will when you are not well prepared.
“And we’ve been working hard in the way we need to position ourselves in the game so that we can transform the will into a reality.
“There’s a way to do it. There is a way to transform the will into an objective and make an objective fulfilled. I think obviously this game will be a detailed game like the game we played back home.”
RELATED STORY: Mamelodi Sundowns announce new ‘powerful’ partnership