Cardoso laments rough treatment from Sundowns fans – ‘I didn’t fall from the sky’

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Cardoso laments rough treatment from Sundowns fans – ‘I didn’t fall from the sky’

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has hit out at the club’s supporters for disrespecting him.

Cardoso has been on the receiving end of some rough treatment from a section of supporters who feel his team is not playing with swagger with some openly calling for his departure.

The situation has escalated in recent weeks as Sundowns have struggled to break down opponents with the coach subjected to chants of Pitso Mosimane in the stands while others went to the extent of directing vile comments at him.

Miguel Cardoso Mamelodi Sundowns 2

Cardoso appears to be fed up and has slammed the supporters for not showing resect towards him, his work and his players who he feels are getting affected by the bad treatment towards him.   

What has annoyed Cardoso?

 “Of course, when people make jokes about the colour of the car of the coach, and there’s no respect for the integrity of a human being like me, there are a lot of wrong things in this country,” Cardoso said after his team’s 2-1 win over Gomora United in the Nedbank Cup on Wednesday night.

“And it’s important to settle those things. Because a few years ago, you had someone very important [Nelson Mandela] in this country who bought some ideas about how to relate.

“And I found a country that is fantastic in terms of values. I don’t think it’s proper to joke about the coach’s car or the way the coach got out of a press conference. And that is what is missing, look at the coach and say, oh, respect, this guy didn’t fall from the sky.

“This guy coached teams that no one ever imagined in South Africa. But just show some respect and that’s it. One day I will go. No, no one needs to push someone. Just need to take it calmly and let ourselves work.”

Falling standards this season

Cardoso has been at Sundowns since replacing Manqoba Mngqithi in December 2024 and led them to the PSL title, CAF Champions League final and Club World Cup, where they impressed by exited at the group stage, last season.

Thato Sibiya Mamelodi Sundowns vs Al Hilal Omdurman
Image – Sundowns

This season has, however, seen a drop in standards somewhat with Sundowns now three points behind Orlando Pirates on the PSL table after 15 games and second in their Champions League group, just one point above St Eloi Lupopo and MC Alger with two games to go.

Further, the team’s style of play has not been good on the eye, further adding pressure on the Portuguese tactician but he maintains that they are on course to achieving their objectives and therefore deserve some better treatment.

Sundowns coach demands resect

“These players deserve a lot of respect. This club deserves a lot of respect. It’s a huge club with huge people. This club is so strong and is highly respected by the people inside because we have fantastic people inside the club,” he added.

Miguel Cardoso Mamelodi Sundowns 1

“And we are together on that. We are together. But look, football is exactly like that. You go to England. Pep Guardiola, 10 years coach of Manchester City. Do you think he goes through the seasons without problems, without questions?

“He watches press conferences, one after the other, and you see him fighting and struggling. But football is like that. It turns around very quickly, but it just turns around for the strong ones. The weaker ones don’t turn the chess table, but the strong ones turn it around. And that’s it.”

<!-- Author Start -->Joel Oliver<!-- Author End -->

Joel Oliver

Author

Joel Oliver is a seasoned multimedia sports journalist with a rich background in covering diverse football stories and events in South Africa and beyond.
His extensive coverage spans subjects touching on the PSL, with a focus on the Big Three (Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs & Mamelodi Sundowns), Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.

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