Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso attributed his side's 3-2 aggregate loss to Pyramids FC in the CAF Champions League final to one core reason: he conceded that the North Africans' hunger and competitiveness simply outweighed his team's, making all the difference in the tie.
A 2-1 defeat in Cairo during the second leg brought an end to Mamelodi Sundowns' aspirations of winning their second continental title.
The first leg 1-1 draw in Pretoria had set up a tense decider, but Pyramids FC, playing on home soil, proved to be the more clinical side, outmatching Sundowns in both their intensity and execution to secure the coveted trophy.
Cardoso, after the match, explained why it’s difficult to play against the North African club.
CARDOSO ON SUNDOWNS DEFEAT TO PYRAMIDS
“Well, you know, I always speak about how important it is to compete at the highest level,” Cardoso told SuperSport after the match as quoted by Soccer Laduma.
“It’s exactly the answer I gave to questions asked by the journalists in South Africa. They asked, ‘why is it so difficult to play against teams from the north of Africa?’ Because those teams compete. They play well, of course, they also play football, but they compete at a high level.
“Every duel is a life changer. Every ball they fight for, they fight with all the energy they have. Ending some moments, I felt that there was something missing on our part.
“But I don’t think that we played worse than Pyramids. I think that was shown in both matches. But Pyramids were very competent, very capable of keeping us from playing the way we wanted. Most of all, they gave their lives in every ball they were challenging for.
“At this level, sometimes that makes the difference. And I think that was what made a lot of difference in this final. That’s what is in my mind at the moment.
“It’s not a matter of accepting that we lost, but it’s a matter of accepting that we didn’t play the game I think we should have in key parts of the game.
“We didn’t play at the level that we should have played. And we needed to get up and play in a different way, to be able to fight. And when we did, when we got up and we looked them in the eyes and we fought, we caused problems. But you have to do that for 90 minutes, not in short spells.”
