Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has revealed what he wants from his captains as he begins to stamp his authority on the squad.
Cardoso was unveiled last week as the new Sundowns coach, taking over from Manqoba Mngqithi, and has wasted little time in implementing his philosophy at the club.
Themba Zwane is Sundowns captain with Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena and Denis Onyango deputsining him, but he is out with a long-term injury suffered on national team assignment.
Cardoso has explained how he wants players who have leadership abilities, both on and off the pitch, while lauding the character of those he has found at the club.
Who is the ideal skipper for Cardoso?
“I like to have a captain that has the profile to help the coach to lead the team in terms of helping the team inside the pitch regarding behaviour,” Cardoso said.
“And I’m speaking about normal behaviour as a player, the relation with opponents, themselves and referees. But I also like that every player here has the attitude of a captain. Everybody takes responsibility, not only the captain because I believe the best thing can be done if we work with a collective attitude.
“When there’s an intervention from the captain or one of the captains, either Themba, Ronwen, Teboho [Mokoena] or Denis [Onyango], it’s because they want to shape the character of the group, so if the character is shaped, They [captains] won’t need to intervene.”
Cardoso started his Sundowns reign with a 1-0 win over Raja Casablanca in the CA Champions League and will be looking to get his first league victory when his team take on Stellenbosch FC at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday evening.
