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Cardoso focussed on results over performance in Champions League

rugby08 April 2025 08:00| © Mzansi Football
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Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is focused on results and nothing else in their CAF Champions League campaign as he looks to bring a second star for the badge in this year’s competition.

Sundowns are away at Tunisian giants Esperance on Tuesday night as they protect a slender 1-0 lead from the home leg of their quarterfinal.

It was not a classic in the first game in Pretoria, decided by a winner from Peter Shalulile, but Portuguese coach Cardoso says the result, and not the performance, are what matters at this stage of the competition.

He was grilled by the Tunisian media on the eve of the game, having eld Esperance to the Champions League final last year, where they lost to Al Ahly.

“Champions League matches are for results,” he told reporters. “I remember last year, most of you (in the media) criticised performances that Esperance did. But we reached the final. We never, as coaches, worry about the opinions of others when we know what we’re doing.

“We know what we’re going to do, how to prepare ourselves for the match, what we need to take inside the pitch, the commitment we need to take and no more.”

Sundowns centre-back Lebusa says the fact that Cardoso knows how to take teams into big finals is a plus.

“I think every coach is different with their philosophies and we’re lucky enough to have a coach who was in the final last season. He’s helping us, making us realise our full potential,” Lebusa said.

“He’s different in his own way and we’re focusing on trying to be better than we were in previous seasons. In that regard, he’s really leading us.”

Sundowns are seeking a third successive semifinal in the Champions League having been knocked out by Cardoso’s Esperance last year.

Should they advance they will play either Al Ahly or Al Hilal in this year’s last-4. Ahly hold a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg at home.

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