Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has gone down memory lane, reflecting on what made him a staunch admirer of the late Bafana Bafana international Jayden Adams.
Particularly, it was a match in which the late midfielder played for Stellenbosch FC against Stade Malien Bamako in the CAF Confederation Cup, just before his switch to Masandawana.
Adams passed away on Saturday, July 11, aged 25. He died a few days after returning to South Africa from participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Bafana Bafana.
He featured in three games at the quadrennial global football extravaganza, starting two of them and coming on as a late substitute in the other. The world bids farewell to Adams, who was part of the history-making Bafana side which reached the World Cup knockouts for the first time.
Signing for Sundowns in January 2025 from Stellenbosch, Adams was signed by Cardoso, who had joined the club a month earlier to replace Manqoba Mngqithi. Then, 16 months after walking into Chloorkop, the late linkman was instrumental in helping the Brazilians clinch the CAF Champions League, featuring in every minute of the two-legged final against AF FAR Rabat.
MIGUEL CARDOSO REVISITS THE DAY JAYDEN ADAMS WON HIM OVER
January 12, 2025, is a day Cardoso vividly remembers. On this day, Adams was in action for Stellenbosch against Stade Malien at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. The Cape Winelands outfit won 2-0, with Adams grabbing the second goal in the 39th minute after Fawaaz Basadien had opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark.
Transfer speculation was already rife that Adams was headed to Chloorkop, and six days after the Stade Malien tie, he was announced as a new Masandawana player. But that Confederation Cup encounter had the late star charming Cardoso into his corner.
“We received you into our family not long after my arrival at the club, and we grew together. I remember watching you play against Stade Malien at Loftus in the Confederation Cup, your last match for Stellenbosch,” Cardoso relives the day in an emotional tribute to Adams on Instagram.
“Goal! That incredible first-post movement you have and beautiful header! Saw you easy, medium pace, reading the pitch and placing accordingly, like you had a GPS and could avoid the traffic.
“The ball was clean, the game becoming quick, the teammates playing better. I remember asking in what position you were better. No clear answer. You came in Sundowns. I spoke about a good player needing adaptation and the spirit to fight for a position in such a competitive environment.”
‘INTELLIGENT, YOU MADE ME A BETTER COACH’: CARDOSO RAVES ABOUT ADAMS’ QUALITIES
Cardoso has admitted he could not figure out which position best suited Adams, who was at home as a defensive or attacking midfielder. He says the Cape Town native was a utility player who was comfortable adjusting to any football system.
“What a guy you are. I spoke about you. Several times! I said you are an intelligent player, capable of playing in many positions, adaptive to the systems and tactically well-developed, that you make us play better,” Cardoso went on.
“You gave me every day the answer I asked for when I first saw you playing in that match. You spoke about me: ‘The coach made me a different player.’
“If the difference is the quality, you spread everywhere we played, I’m absolutely fulfilled and overwhelmed as a coach. You made me a better coach by the football you helped us to play.”
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MIGUEL CARDOSO’S LAST INTERACTION WITH ADAMS
For a player who, not long ago, had the whole world watching him, his death came as a shocking and devastating.
“We just spoke a few days ago. All looked normal, all looked peaceful. You were like that. Life teaches me every day that a coach must be from the players more than from the game,” Cardoso opens up on his lessons.
“I hope I can apply that even more as we move forward, because we will. We will, as you surely wished, battle from now on always with twelve men, as we’ll carry you in our hearts everywhere we’ll go.”
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