Miguel Cardoso has weighed in on the evolution of Kaizer Chiefs, explaining why the Soweto giants appeared sharper and more dangerous during the Nasreddine Nabi era than under their present coaching duo.
Cardoso gave a candid assessment of the Chiefs after Sundowns played a fiery 1-1 draw against the Soweto giants at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in the Betway Premiership on Wednesday night.
Chiefs opened the scoring in the first half through a strike from Flavio Silva, while Brayan Leon scored the equaliser in the second half for Sundowns.
The stalemate saw Sundowns drop two crucial points in the league title race against the high-flying Orlando Pirates. Downs missed a golden opportunity to establish a five-point lead over the Buccaneers at the summit of the log, with only two matches remaining in the campaign.
Sundowns are occupying the top spot on the Premiership table with 65 points in 28 matches, while Pirates, who beat Stellenbosch FC 2-0 on Tuesday, have collected 62 points in 27 games.
Meanwhile, the clash between Chiefs and Sundowns was marred by controversial officiating, with players from both sides committing reckless challenges. Consequently, Chiefs’ Mduduzi Shabalala and Sundowns defender Keanu Cupido sustained season-ending injuries following a series of rugged tackles.
The Brazilians were forced to navigate the final 25 minutes with a numerical disadvantage after Jayden Adams received his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
WHAT CARDOSO SAID ABOUT CHIEFS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF NABI
Speaking after the match, Masandawana mentor took a dig at the current Chiefs technical team, Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef, arguing that the team was more dangerous under the leadership of Nabi, who left the club in September 2025.
The Portuguese tactician observed that the Naturena-based outfit possessed a far more potent attacking threat in transition during Nabi’s tenure.
It was under the Tunisian’s stewardship that Amakhosi truly transformed into a formidable cup side, famously ending the club’s agonising 10-year trophy drought by clinching the 2025 Nedbank Cup. Their path to glory was particularly storied, as they overcame Sundowns in the earlier rounds before ultimately toppling arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in a historic final.
“The team [Sundowns] had a clear mindset [in the Chiefs game in midweek], but the more the other team puts pressure on, the more you have to play football and take the ball to the spaces,” Cardoso said.
“I think in the first 20 minutes, the match was rough, and from the start to the end of the first half, the match was difficult to take control of. I think the first box entry we had was our goal, and I don’t remember much more in the first-half.
“Of course, after we were one player less and we were chasing the second goal, it’s obvious that there could have been moments that appeared [for Chiefs] on transition, but I think last year with coach Nabi we saw a much more dangerous Kaizer Chiefs than we saw this evening [Wednesday].
“Last year, the two matches we played against Kaizer Chiefs, in transition, the team was able to cope rather than today [Wednesday night] because we took control of the game, and there was a lot of respect for us, and I’m happy about that, but last year I think they were stronger with how they tried to counter-attack us.”
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