As pressure mounts for Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso, the Portuguese has revealed how he is looking beyond the football pitch for tactical inspiration. The Portuguese tactician revealed he is drawing lessons from one of rugby’s most formidable units – the South African Springboks’ ‘Bomb Squad.’
Cardoso is under no illusions regarding the expectations at Chloorkop. Despite Sundowns’ domestic dominance, the former Esperance coach has yet to secure a trophy for Masandawana this season, and the business end of the season offers no margin for error.
Cardoso’s primary target remains the CAF Champions League, a trophy that has eluded the club since Sundowns’ historic 2016 triumph under Pitso Mosimane. While the Brazilians have been perennial fixtures in the knockout stages, the second star has consistently slipped through their fingers.
Ahead of Friday’s crucial Group Stage encounter away to Al Hilal, Cardoso explained how the Springboks’ strategy of using elite ‘finishers’ to change the game’s momentum has influenced his thinking.
“Since I arrived in South Africa, I tried to learn a little bit from the biggest references in sports in the country. As everybody knows, rugby is a huge sport in South Africa with huge coaches and huge players.
“There is an expression they use about the players that pitch from the bench, they call them the ‘Bomb Squad’. That has exactly to do with the spirit that is important to have when you think about a team like Sundowns that has to play so many competitions and produce results in so many competitions.”
CARDOSO ON THE ‘IMPACT PLAYER’ EFFECT
Earlier this year, Cardoso also admitted that he draws inspiration from his fierce local rivals, Orlando Pirates.
He commended coach Abdeslam Ouaddou for his ideology, which regards players who are non-starters as ‘impact players’. The philosophy holds that all players are equally important and effective, whether they start the game or come in as substitutes.
Cardoso reflected on how the same philosophy helped the club in their 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United in the Betway Premiership. Second-half substitute Nuno Santos netted the opener in added time to help Sundowns secure a hard-fought victory in away territory.
“That is exactly the spirit and the values that we need to have in this team, that there are no more important players than everybody. The ones that don’t understand that and the ones that will not understand are the ones that fall,” said Cardoso.
“Because embodying the true spirit of a group is the most important thing to face a season like the one we have ahead and the ones we have been having. The last match was a beautiful one because I saw exactly the values that we discussed,” he concluded.
Sundowns head into Friday’s clash determined to secure top spot in Group C. The Pretoria side is currently level on points [5] with second-placed Al Hilal. Thus, qualification remains for the taking in this season’s ‘group of death’ of the Champions League.
RELATED STORY: Cardoso explains defiant gesture after Sundowns win