Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso will get his first taste of the Tshwane derby when his team take on cross-town rivals SuperSport United on Wednesday.
The clash at the Lucas Moripe Stadium will be the fourth derby in which Cardoso will be involved as head coach during his managerial career.
The tactician has worked as a coach for 30 years but it was not until June 2018 when he got his first job as head coach when he took on Portuguese team Rio Ave.
However, he never managed to play the local derby against rivals Farense for the one year that he was there, and he would move to French club Nantes in June 2019.
How did Downs coach fare at past clubs?
At Nantes, he was gone by October that year, after just eight matches in charge, and had not faced Stade Rennais in the Derby Breton by the time he left.
Cardoso’s next work station was in Celta Vigo, Spain in November 2018 but by March 2019, he was sacked before he had faced local rivals Deportivo de La Coruna in any match.
In May 2019, Cardoso was unveiled by Greek side AEK Athens but was fired after just four matches, his third dismissal in a year, coming before he had experienced the Athenian derby against Panathinaikos.
Cardoso returned to Rio Ave in January 2021 and this time round, he managed to face Farense in March that year, winning the match 2-0, in what was his first derby as head coach but he was dismissed at the end of the season after the club could not avoid relegation.
Cardoso enjoyed derby wins in Tunisia
The 52-year-old took on his first coaching job in Africa in January 2024 when he was hired by Tunisian giants Esperance.
It is here that he would experience one of the most explosive derbies in Africa, the Tunis derby, pitting Esperance against local rivals Club Africain.
Cardoso was dismissed in October 2024 but by then, he had won two Tunis derbies when his Esperance triumphed 1-0 at home in March and 2-1 away to Club Africain in June last year.
Cardoso therefore heads into the Tshwane derby with a good record in derbies which should give him confidence of collecting maximum points at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
