Winning only the league title could easily be seen as a failure by Sundowns’ lofty standards.
It goes without saying that Mamelodi Sundowns are victims of their own success. They are a grade-A student whose parents panic when the marks drop to a B or C symbol. The truth is, good is simply no longer good enough at the Betway Premiership champions.
Sundowns statement of intent
You only have to look at Sundowns’ recruitment model to realise how far ahead they are from a financial standpoint. The signing of Nuno Santos, who featured in Portugal’s top flight for Vitória de Guimarães last season, is a clear statement of intent and highlights their ambition and financial muscle.
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Apart from a few big institutions in North Africa, no PSL side can match the Brazilians’ spending power. Masandawana’s frustration largely stems from the belief that their star-studded squad should be brushing aside most domestic opponents with ease.
It’s clear that things haven’t gone according to plan with Miguel Cardoso at the helm, and one can only wonder how the hierarchy at Chloorkop will square the circle, as murmurs of discontent grow louder from the card-carrying passionate supporters in the stands.
I don’t believe Cardoso is the missing piece in Sundowns’ CAF Champions League pursuit. He simply doesn’t have enough credit left from Sundowns supporters to turn things around. Everything he does is marked with a red pen by the supporters and comes under intense scrutiny.
This is far from a healthy environment for any coach and at this point, it feels as though the club is merely delaying the inevitable. In my view, he will once again fall short of delivering the one trophy the club craves above all else.
Cardoso’s report card is far from impressive and winning only the league title could easily be seen as a failure by Sundowns’ lofty standards. The FIFA Club World Cup was always going to be a difficult assignment to ace.
Precarious position
However, failure in the Nedbank Cup, CAF Champions League, MTN8 and Carling Knockout has placed Cardoso in an increasingly precarious position. Winning one trophy out of a realistic target of five equates to a return of a mere 20 percent and by any measure, that’s a dismal report card.
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Rulani Mokwena was dismissed despite losing just one league match, yet his near-misses on the continental stage and a fractured relationship with sporting director Flemming Berg cost him his job.