Miguel Cardoso, the coach of Mamelodi Sundowns, has clarified his remarks that he had only 20 minutes to get ready for their game against Orlando Pirates last weekend.
Last weekend, Sundowns defeated Pirates 4-1 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in their Betway Premiership match.
In an interview after the game, Cardoso stated that because of their hectic schedule, they did not have much time on the field to get ready for their title-chasing opponents; instead, they spent the remaining time recovering and watching videos.
We just positioned ourselves on the field
“This game with Pirates was prepared in 20 minutes. We had 20 minutes on the pitch, but we didn’t run,” Cardoso said.
“I just positioned the players. When the ball is here and then when we are here or when we win the ball and what we do.
“And then [we watched] video analysis and then [conducted] team meetings. That’s how we prepared because there’s no time to train.”
He continued: “If you make the players train, they will arrive at the games in a poor condition. So, we didn’t do any physical exercise.
“We just positioned ourselves around the field and showed what we should do in various situations, what we had to do when they played short, when they played long, how we should press them, when we would be in a low block, and how we should press them.
“There’s no way we could exercise.”
Remarks draw mixed emotions
His remarks were, however, received with mixed emotions and interpretations on social media.
“Some people didn’t respect what I said regarding what I said about preparing the game in 20 minutes,” Cardoso said during the Nedbank Cup press conference in Sandton on Thursday.
“I was referring to the tactical work on the pitch, that in 20 minutes we had to basically explain to the players what the approach to the game was, and not that our training session was 20 minutes or that we did not have discussions and meetings.
“But I saw many comments that the coach is the special one because he can prepare matches in 20 minutes. No, please try and understand what I said.”
Preparations for Home Defenders match
Cardoso stated that this time, they will at least have some time for a training session before their match with ABC Motsepe’s Mpheni Home Defenders in the round of 16, in which they will play.
“Now we gave the boys a day off [on Thursday], and tomorrow [Friday] we will possibly have one training session with content in order to prepare not only for the next match but for the future as well so that we continue to work on our development and game ideas.”
The Brazilians and Home Defenders will meet at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
