Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has reacted to his reaching the CAF Champions League final on Friday night.
Sundowns put on an impressive show against Al Ahly for a place in the final for the first time since 2016, when they won the cup.
Sundowns smashed and grabbed the tie and broke Al Ahly’s hearts. Defender Yasser Ibrahim scored an own goal at the death in front of 75 000 home supporters at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday night.
The game ended 1-1, but Sundowns advanced to the final via the away goal rule. The sides had played to a goalless draw in the first leg at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
An elated Cardoso said the victory was inspired by “trust”. He said they believed that scoring a goal would change the complexion of the match, despite trailing almost the entire game.
“Trust, trust, no doubt, trust – on the way we have been loving this experience together, trusting in the quality of each other, trust in the game plan we developed for the match, and the trust that even after 1-0 we can score,” Cardoso said.
“We had trust that whatever happened in the past [getting eliminated in two semi-finals], a new history had to be written today.
“We had trust in a club that supports and gives us the conditions to work hard, and trust in our families who are at home, who give us love, our supporters in South Africa, in brotherhood we trust.
“We knew we had to score just one goal, and that’s why we were protective in defence. We knew one goal could appear at any moment, and we had to work hard for it. We suffered from a mistake and had to work hard.”
Sundowns will return to Egypt to face Pyramids FC in the final. The Egyptian outfit stunned Orlando Pirates at the 30 June Stadium on Friday night. They came from behind twice for an impressive 3-2 victory over the Buccaneers.
The first leg of the final will be played in South Africa on 24 May. The second leg will be in Cairo on 1 June but venues are yet to be announced.
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