‘You don’t play on a dry pitch’ – Why European star had to leave Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has clarified that midfielder Miguel Reisinho’s unsuccessful stint at the club was a matter of adaptation, not a reflection of his quality as a player.

Speaking after Sundowns’ 3-2 MTN8 semi-final victory over Golden Arrows, Cardoso explained that foreign players must fully embrace South African culture to thrive at the Tshwane giants.

He used the club’s new Brazilian head of performance as an example to illustrate the initial shock and the subsequent need for a strong will to integrate.

“He is a high-level professional, but it’s his first experience abroad, so his first week he looks like a fish out of the ocean,” Cardoso said as quoted by Soccer Laduma.

Cardoso on Reisinho’s struggles

“But his intention to adapt is so strong that it will be very quick. Regarding players, you need to be open-hearted to adapt to a country that is completely different… you need to embrace the difference and enjoy it.”

The well-travelled Portuguese coach, whose career has taken him to Ukraine, France, Spain, Greece, and Tunisia, emphasized the importance of immersing oneself in the local environment.

“I love the difference because I think the difference makes me a better human being, but I need to embrace it,” he stated. “You are different from me, you drink and eat different food, you listen to different music… but I love that. You really need to have that mindset.”

Cardoso warned that resisting the local culture can make a player’s integration almost impossible, stressing that Sundowns’ recruitment process ensures that talent is never the issue.

Differences conditions in SA and Portugal

“If you start denying everything—you don’t dance in the locker room, you don’t absorb the things that are so beautiful in South Africa—it will be more difficult for you daily,” he explained. “Sundowns never brings a player that has no quality. He may not perform, but it’s not because he doesn’t have quality.”

The coach also highlighted the stark contrast between football in Portugal and South Africa, from pitch conditions to the rhythm of the game, which can affect a player’s suitability.

“In Portugal, you never play a game on a dry pitch, so the game is much quicker,” Cardoso noted. “Here, the rhythm is sometimes very high because the game is back and forth. The tempo in Portugal is different… so the profile of a player is obviously suitable or not.”

While defending Reisinho’s mentality, Cardoso suggested that the midfielder’s capacity to adapt may have been insufficient. “I’m not saying that Miguel was weak, because he was not,” the coach clarified. “But the level of capacity of adaptation probably was not enough for him.”

Contrast between European star and Basadien

In contrast, Cardoso praised Fawaaz Basadien as a prime example of a player who fought for his place after a difficult season. “Last year he almost didn’t play… but how he showed commitment to start the season and excel himself and try to be better than the others… it’s amazing.”

Ultimately, Cardoso acknowledged that not all transfers work out, a reality faced by even the world’s biggest clubs.

“We know that out of five or six transfers, maybe one or two will not reach the level that we want. If you go to the biggest clubs in the world, it’s the same. You go to City, they also fail,” he concluded.

“The question is not if you’re going to fail, because everyone is going to fail. The question is, we cannot fail too much.” “And then that will speak for us.”