Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has challenged the PSL to support his charges in their chase for glory in Africa’s premier club competition, the CAF Champions League.
Cardoso’s troops recently advanced to the group stages of the Champions League, aiming to go all the way and lift the trophy. The Tshwane giants last won the trophy back in 2016 after beating Egyptian side Zamalek in the final under the guidance of the then-head coach Pitso Mosimane.
In the past few years, the Champions League has proven elusive for Sundowns, with the club falling short in the knockout stages. Last season, Masandawana had an impressive run in the Champions League after reaching the final, where they lost against Pyramids FC 3-1 on aggregate over two legs.
Meanwhile, Sundowns have been dealing with difficulties traveling around the continent and competing in domestic competitions.
Cardoso has pleaded with the PSL hierarchy to support Sundowns by making sure that the club doesn’t play midweek matches when there are Champions League games over the weekend.
The Portuguese mentor revealed that the North African teams are successful in the CAF Interclubs competitions because they don’t play matches in between the Champions League games.
CARDOSO PLEADS WITH PSL NOT TO SCHEDULE MIDWEEK FIXTURES FOR SUNDOWNS
“You saw it for last season that Sundowns had a lot of matches ahead. We played a lot of matches in the middle of the week consistently,” Cardoso said.
“We believe that we could go far in the Champions League than we did last year, and we want to have a full week when we’re playing Champions League so that we don’t charge our players.
“I would remind everybody that when there’s a South African team playing in the Champions League, it’s not only representing the club but South African football.
“So it’s important that everyone knows that, when we try to clean the weeks from matches, we want to compete with big teams in Africa.
“The biggest teams in Africa don’t play in the middle of the week, and I want you to remember that I was on that side [North Africa] one year ago when I played in the final with Esperance.
“We didn’t need to ask to move matches because the calendar is done in a way that teams don’t play in the middle of the week because they want the Tunisian teams to take the Champions League seriously.”
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