Mamelodi Sundowns have little time to savour their MTN8 triumph, with coach Miguel Cardoso already focused on Tuesday’s Premiership meeting with Richards Bay and the start of their Champions League title defence.
Sundowns beat Orlando Pirates in Saturday’s final at Moses Mabhida Stadium to win their first domestic cup since 2022. But they return to Durban on Tuesday to face Richards Bay at the Princess Magogo Stadium.
Victory would keep Sundowns at the top of the Premiership table, although they would have played one more match than second-placed Pirates.
The club will then travel to Angola to meet Wiliete Sport Clube in the first leg of the final qualifying round for the Champions League group stages.
“It is good to have collected two trophies by October, but there are still so many things to play for,” said Cardoso, who has now won four trophies with Sundowns. Those include the 2024-25 league title, last season’s Champions League, and the MTN8 and Fifa Africa-Asia-Pacific Cup this campaign.
“We need to start preparing for our match against Richards Bay and after that we are travelling to Angola for the Champions League.
“It’s a rollercoaster ride but you must enjoy it. We need to have fun while at it and this is what I always tell the players. I tell them that they must not forget to have fun when they play.
“Sometimes we need to take the match by the neck and also enjoy these moments.”
Pirates face a similar schedule as they host TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday, with three points needed to keep pace with Sundowns in the league.
Abdeslam Ouaddou’s side will travel to Namibia on Saturday to play African Stars, continuing their bid to reach the Champions League group stages.
Cardoso said Sundowns must remain grounded while maintaining the ambition required by the club’s standards.
“Looking ahead is to be humble. We should be happy to have won two trophies already, but we must be humble enough to know that there is another match in two days.
“There is also a qualifier for the group stages of the Champions League next weekend in Angola. There are a lot of things ahead for us and we need to keep the focus and trust each other.
“These are the values the team has been developing and we must be ambitious. That’s how we can continue to state ourselves in this country where there is difficult competition.”
Sundowns had only three days to work with their Bafana Bafana and other national-team players before the MTN8 final. Their Bafana squad included Ronwen Williams, Ricardo Goss, Fawaaz Basadien, Thabang Matuludi, Aubrey Modiba, Khuluname Ndamane, Thapelo Morena, Bathusi Aubaas, Teboho Mokoena, Themba Zwane, Tashreeq Matthews, Cassius Mailula and Iqraam Rayners. Divine Lunga was with Zimbabwe and Denis Onyango with Uganda.
Pirates were also without several Bafana players for much of their preparations: Sipho Chaine, Kamogelo Sebelebele, Lebone Seema, Yanela Mbuthuma and Oswin Appollis. Attacker Gamphani Lungu was away with Zambia.
“We had three days to work with the players who came back from the national team, but most of the preparations for this match had been going on for some time,” said Cardoso.
“At the same time, I had people working on Richards Bay, so it has been a difficult three weeks in terms of the volume of work.
“It is the experience of the players in managing these kinds of matches.”
