Sundowns are rebuilding and TV pundits should know that, Cardoso says

Mamelodi Sundowns are in a rebuilding phase at the start of the 2026-27 season and will find a better stride when the technical staff’s work instilling stability bares fruit, Brazilians coach Miguel Cardoso says.

The coach was taking a dig at critical television analysts who, he said, should be aware of that situation.

Not that Downs have been majorly unconvincing at the start of a campaign rocked by the pre-season death by apparent suicide of Bafana Bafana midfielder Jayden Adams, the disruptions of their players forming the core of the national team squad at the 2026 Fifa World Cup in June and injuries.

Last season’s Betway Premiership runners-up conceded an uncharacteristically high four goals in their first two games, but won both 3-2 — against Polokwane City away in the league and TS Galaxy at home in the MTN8 quarterfinals.

They followed that up with a dominant performance but 1-1 result on the scoreboard in their league clash against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Downs conceded their eighth-in-succession league championship run to Orlando Pirates in 2025-26, but a second Caf Champions League title added to their previous success in 2016 went a long way to make up for that in Cardoso’s first full campaign at Chloorkop.

The coach was asked about some high-scoring matches from many teams at the start of this Premiership season.

“I think the teams are settling down. It’s typical in South Africa, from the experience I’ve had here, that early in the season there is a lot of instability in teams. Some are still finishing the pre-season, some still getting players,” he said.

The 54-year-old Portuguese pointed to his own experience as an example.

“If you think about our team you may imagine how it has been settling players down, how difficult it has been to get stability.

“We received the players from the World Cup late, after a deserved, but not as long as it should have been, [almost two-week] period of rest. Some among them were not in the best condition.

“[Khulumani] Ndamane went to the World Cup but did not play a single minute. So the period of [match] inactivity was extended for him by almost two weeks [of time off]. After he started, he got injured.

“And I think those [Sundowns] fans that speak too much are the ones who don’t follow the team very well. They speak too much and understand too little.

“This team is under rebuilding. We lost so many players who are not able to contribute. It was Keanu [Cupido, injured], Jayden [Adams], Nuno Santos is in a process that doesn’t allow stability, Brayan [León] was injured and missed much of the pre-season and his first minutes were in the last two matches.

“I could speak about many other cases ― ‘Tebza’ [Teboho Mokoena] is out [after a first-match injury in the league win against Polokwane City].

“So, if you compare this team to the one that played the Champions League final, tell me where the similarities are because there aren’t any.”

Cardoso said it rests with the technical staff to bring stability to the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

“It’s also our job, and something I think we have been doing very well, giving opportunities to players who didn’t play so much in the past. And to bring through the young players who are showing the level, like you saw [against Chiefs] with Siyanda [Ndlovu, Downs’ 22-year-old signing from Golden Arrows] ... Bennet [Mokoena, 19-year-old substitute] and the way he performed.

Because it seems that when you pass from a player or coach and you sit yourself in front of microphones you forget what you did before.

—  Miguel Cardoso

“There are new players. Cassius Mailula arrived [back from time spent in the US, Belgium and Morocco]. He is integrating himself, but his process of that is more simple because he was already at Sundowns. We also lost Arthur Sales, who was a very important player for us.”

Cardoso took a dig at TV analysts he believes have not shown understanding of the situation he described.

“There are a lot of dynamics we are rebuilding and we need to do it as quickly as possible. And we need to do that process as we get results — we all know that.

“Because it shows, the ones [TV pundits] who understand football, [and those who don’t who] are speaking without making a proper analysis from the experiences they have from being coaches or players in the past. Because it seems that when you pass from a player or coach and you sit yourself in front of microphones, you forget what you did before.

“Obviously at Sundowns, time, work, results, everything needs to be done at the same time. And here and there, sometimes [at present] you get [the results of the work] in the last minutes or in places in matches. We will continue to progress and try to get as much stability as we can by recovering players from the past.

“[Against Chiefs] we could have been more aggressive in the first half, but we completely controlled the match. It was a very tactical match.

“But the league is there, it’s competitive, there is a lot of football to be seen, some curiosity regarding some teams from my side. But it will be a beautiful championship for sure.”

Downs remain a fearsome combination on paper. Cardoso, who arrived with just one trophy under his belt midway through the 2024-25 season and has added league and Champions League titles since, has a right to be confident there will be more trophies in 2026-27.