He has made a rollicking start to his Mamelodi Sundowns career and if he continues at this rate, Jayden Adams is going to be a vital cog in the team’s assault for a record-extending eighth league championship.
Sundowns return to Premier Soccer League action on Wednesday, when Adams is expected to play a crucial part in their visit to Sekhukhune United at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium and again when they face Kaizer Chiefs at a sold-out Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
Questions were asked about where Adams would play in the star-studded Brazilians midfield when he was recruited from Stellenbosch FC in January.
However, he has impressed coach Miguel Cardoso. In six league appearances, 23-year-old Adams has scored two goals.
He has yet to find the back of the net in two appearances in the Nedbank Cup but he has a chance to improve his statistics with Sundowns in the quarterfinals, where Bucs are to meet SuperSport United.
While the coach has rotated his squad, Adams has started in Sundowns’ last five league matches against SuperSport United (3-0 win to Downs), Orlando Pirates (4-1 win), twice against TS Galaxy (a 1-0 defeat and Saturday’s 4-1 win) and Marumo Gallants (3-1 win) to show his importance in the system.
“The role of a coach is to try to find the connections between the players so the whole system works. I believe a coach needs to create an organisation where the best players can express themselves,” Cardoso said.
“It is about knowing who should be where and what to ask from each one so their best appears on the pitch. We have quality players and Jayden is one of them. He is happy with us and that has helped him settle down quickly.
“Given the way we play, he is able to do the things we want from him. He is capable of doing many things, he is an interesting player in terms of understanding the game and he is very intelligent,” the coach said.
Cardoso praised Adams for his ability to control the game as part of a talented Sundowns midfield that includes Teboho Mokoena, Marcelo Allende and Lucas Ribeiro.
“Sometimes he doesn’t need to run too much; he knows how to play the ball in the right spaces. He knows how to cope with different dimensions of the game and settle everyone so we have a better game. I have always believed if you play better, you win more,” Cardoso said.
“If you play in a competition, sometimes you can have a bad game and win, but in a championship you will probably get what you want if you regularly play better. Defences win you championships and attackers win you matches,” he said.
“We should also cope and understand that and the better we play, [the more likely we are to get] the results we desire.”
Sundowns, with 48 points from 18 matches, lead the league with a 12-point gap ahead of second-placed Orlando Pirates, who are on 36 points from 15 matches.
Sekhukhune have had a strong season and are in third place, on 31 points from 18 matches.
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