‘I don’t work for recognition,’ says Cardoso on Sundowns’ CAF glory
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has shut down talk that he is chasing praise after delivering the club a second CAF Champions League title.
The Brazilians ended a nine-year wait for Africa’s biggest prize in May, beating Morocco’s AS FAR in the final.
It was Sundowns’ first Champions League crown since Pitso Mosimane’s 2016 triumph — and the only major trophy last season.
Sundowns lost the Betway Premiership which they had won eight times in a row to Orlando Pirates and fall short in the domestic cups as well.
Asked if he feels appreciated for that continental success, Cardoso did not blink.
“Regarding recognition, look, I don’t work for recognition at all. That time is finished for me,” he said. “When I was younger, I thought that recognition would be very important.”
The Portuguese coach said the job itself is the reward — especially because the work keeps him away from home.
“I just work for living, for life, to enjoy. Believe me, I work to enjoy a lot. And because I don’t enjoy my family as much as I would like, I have to enjoy my job.
“There’s a lot of things that I already miss that have to do with life. And that is the most important thing,” added Cardoso.
He framed coaching as family duty as much as ambition. His father was a player and coach, and Cardoso said that legacy still drives him.
“For me, the job is pleasure. It’s a pleasure for me, pleasure for my family that is there. My father was also a coach, a football player, a sportsman all his life. And he will one day die watching his son fighting to be the man he made groomed.”
On personal credit, Cardoso was blunt: the players come first.
“Recognition, I don’t really take it personal. I just enjoy and I let my players have the credit of everything I do and I can do for them.”
