Having joined the Caf Champions League elite coaches to have reached the final three times after he guided Mamelodi Sundowns to the final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Esperance on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, coach Miguel Cardoso has vowed they will do their best to win the title.
Sundowns will face AS Far in the two-legged final on May 15 and May 24. Masandawana will host the first leg in Pretoria before travelling to Morocco for the return leg.
Cardoso has now reached the final three times, once with Esperance and twice with Sundowns, joining coaches Pitso Mosimane and Manuel Jose, and is yet to win any.
With another opportunity to win the title with Sundowns, Cardoso hopes this will be third time lucky.
“I think in the history of African football there are three coaches that made three finals in a row: one is Manuel Jose with Al Ahly; Pitso, I think he did it with Sundowns and Ahly; and myself,” Cardoso said.
“When you enter the group of three coaches, you just need to enjoy. Everybody wants more, but I’m always very thankful for life for what it has given me.
“The other teams that played the other semifinal are at the level of Sundowns and Esperance. They have developed very strong teams and a very good group of players. So, we have to respect the final, and whoever thinks this final will not be as difficult as this semifinal is completely wrong. Maybe it will be more difficult.”
Brayan Leon scored the only goal to send Sundowns into their second successive final. But after losing the past two finals, Cardoso said they are going to fight to make sure they win this one.
“We are going to fight a lot to win, that’s for sure, and until the last minute, we will be committed to that, and having a positive approach is always important,” he said.
He also praised everyone at the club for their hard work to reach the final.
“For my staff and me, it’s the hard work from the ones that come from Portugal, the ones I found here in South Africa, and the ones from Denmark.”
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