'I have a tough job' - Miguel Cardoso | OneFootball

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Downs job difficult, says Cardoso

Photo: Miguel Cardoso

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso says he has a tough job managing the star-studded squad, amid players' expectations for ample game time.

The Tshwane giants, competing on all fronts every season, are known for assembling teams with highly-rated players competing for a starting spot in each position.

However, Cardoso has always been vocal about trimming the squad, and he has since opened up on the selection headache he's faced with.

“I think that I have a very tough job indeed. Sometimes it's so easy for people that look from the outside, it seems that there's a coach in every fan of football, in everybody that speaks about South African football. My job is very difficult and in some positions it's really tough. [Asekho] Tiwani went for Stellies but before we had Fawaaz [Basadien], an international player, Aubrey Modiba, an international player, Divine Lunga, an international player,” said the Downs mentor.

"A boy with so much aspiration that comes from playing a World Cup, not as a left-back but as a centre-back, but he played for us a lot as a left-back, and still we have Thato [Sibiya] that is also a player that in the World Cup played in the left-back position. Of course, there are sometimes moments of opportunity and Thato gathered not only conditions on himself but also he profited from an opportunity.

"Aubrey Modiba joined us later coming from AFCON, Divine also joined us later coming from the AFCON. So, we knew that Tiwani had an aspiration to play systematically, so we were looking for a situation of a loan for him. And then we had Fawaaz and Thato - and Thato, but also Fawaaz, but Thato made a very good pre-season. It came from the tournament that we played in Botswana before the AFCON break, and we thought it was time and there were conditions to give him an opportunity.

The under-fire Portuguese tactician went on to dissect the selection headache in the no.9 position, and stressed that the defence and midfield positions are also not easy to have preferred starters.

"But if we go a deep more on the analysis of the squad of Mamelodi Sundowns and we look for the strikers - it's very tough, I'm not in an easy and very comfortable position. Having Peter Shalulile, having Iqraam Rayners, having Lebo Mothiba - three players that have expectations - two of them for the World Cup. One that is also an international player that has prestige and capacity and is always working very serious is Peter.

"And still after the three of them, I have a player that arrives and shows capacity to play in this team, that is Brayan [Leon]. So, for a team that usually plays with one striker - it's problems for a coach. So, I count on the understanding of my players on the situation that we have. If you go through the midfielders it's similar, through the centre-backs it's similar.

"So, this team needs to believe there are no first eleven players. There's starters, there's finishers, and players that still will have to be ready for the next match. My difficulty in this moment is to convince my players that even when you are not playing one match or two matches - that they are as much important as the ones that played. It's really a matter of creating that trust, but in a year that has a World Cup at the end of the season, it's not easy.