MTN8: Right time for Sundowns to play limping Pirates? Cardoso responds

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MTN8: Right time for Sundowns to play limping Pirates? Cardoso responds
Image - Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns are set to play Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 semi-final game to be staged at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

Under coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, the Buccaneers have not started the Premier Soccer League campaign as anticipated. They began the 2025/26 season with a 2-0 win over Polokwane City in the MTN8's last eight hurdle. However, they have suffered losses against Sekhukhune United and Marumo Gallants, respectively.

Masandawana beat Richards Bay 4-0 in the MTN8 quarter-final before collecting four points in the two PSL games played after a draw against Chippa United and a win over Arthur Zwane's AmaZulu in their latest outing.

Orlando Pirates
Image – Pirates

However, that is not a reason for Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso to underestimate Bucs in the first leg of the annual competition.

‘What happened before has nothing to do with this match'

“I understand your question, [but] it’s not really something I relate with regarding the past. I never look at the past. I just want to write the future and live the present in order to write the future. I was not even here in South Africa when cups were played between the teams,” Cardoso told the media.

“It’s the first time we’re going to play each other on a Cup match. That’s why I stated, before what I did, that this kind of matches first whistle puts us in another dimension and the team that may be better or worse or in the same level in the match before, has nothing to do with what will happen in these matches. It’s a story that is completely different.

“There’s a lot of emotionality behind. There’s a lot of ambience around. There’s a lot of players that on these matches, they show themselves in levels that before they were not there,” he added.

‘The game has different moments but…'

“So I think what is important is that the team that wants to get the result must, on these matches really show that additional standard angle to the best as possible as they can do. That’s what I hope we’re going to do in these two matches, we need not to play one, but two very competitive matches with the intentionality to be very competitive so that we can win more duels, we can have more balls,” Cardoso continued.

“We can find the right spaces to play, we can address the opponent, we can cope with aggressions that we’re going to suffer, for sure, because the game, as I said, is also to have different moments; and then the level of awareness to prevent suffering goals, and the level of awareness that allows us to in the right moments, also to make ours to be so sure, two very beautiful games with a lot of emotionality to deal.

“I hope we all and people around and players and the coaches and management and everybody and the referees also live the right emotions that must believe in this kind of games,” he concluded.

<!-- Author Start -->Willis Sob<!-- Author End -->

Willis Sob

Author

Willis Sob is an experienced journalist who has been in the game since 2009, covering major assignments around the continent.
His hunger for African football is unmatched, always getting the best angles and facts to feed the fans and quench their thirst.

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