Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has explained the delay in handing Deano van Rooyen his official debut following the defender’s September arrival from Orlando Pirates.
The talented right-back watched from the stands as Sundowns earned a hard-fought 1–0 victory over Golden Arrows in the Carling Knockout Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night in Pretoria.
Masandawana progressed to the semi-finals of the Carling Cup courtesy of a solitary strike from Iqraam Rayners at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
For the clash against Arrows, Cardoso opted to start Thapelo Morena in the right-back position, while off-season signing Thabang Matuludi occupied a spot on the substitutes’ bench alongside other options.
Meanwhile, Van Rooyen has found it difficult to break into the matchday squad at Downs since signing from rivals Pirates. The Buccaneers parted ways with the gifted defender after he fell out of favour under head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.
Van Rooyen struggled for regular game time at Pirates last season, with Kamogelo Sebelebele establishing himself as the preferred first-choice right-back. As a result, the former Stellenbosch FC captain eventually parted ways with Pirates.
WHAT MIGUEL CARDOSO SAID ABOUT DEANO VAN ROOYEN DEBUT
Just days after leaving the Sea Robbers, Van Rooyen was snapped up by Sundowns, who were eager to bolster their defensive depth following a long-term injury to Khuliso Mudau.
However, the 29-year-old is yet to make an official appearance for the Chloorkop-based outfit. His coach, Cardoso, has cited stiff competition and physical preparation as the key factors keeping Van Rooyen sidelined for now.
“Regarding Deano, he’s a player who, when he arrived, was handled with high priority in terms of his preparation. We understand where he is physically and mentally; we are also looking to create the right conditions so that when he plays, he can excel and show his best qualities,” said Cardoso.
“It’s our way of thinking for a player; we don’t expose the player to the public environment when we don’t feel a player is ready for that because football is the public environment of performance.
“As you may imagine, the competition is quite high not only for him but for Zuko [Mdunyelwa]. Thabang arrived and settled very quickly in the team, and we didn’t know how things were going to be when we brought one after the other.
“Obviously, Thabang picked up the pace more quickly, and we don’t know how it will be in the next moment. Today [Tuesday], he [Van Rooyen] played in a friendly match, and he was quite okay. We are happy at the moment, and we know that there are players who are not playing as much as we would like.”
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