Cardoso Laments Lack Of Support For Sundowns In CAF Champions League – SABC News – Xavier Radio Ug

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has bemoaned the lack of support from football authorities in the country in their CAF Champions League campaign.
The Brazilians will meet Stade Malien from Mali in a quarterfinal first leg encounter at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, on Friday evening.
Cardoso’s outcry stems from the fact that his team played against Orbit College in the Betway Premiership just a few days before the crucial match.
Sundowns have a busy schedule competing in the Betway Premiership and the CAF Champions League. They beat Orbit College 2-nil in the league on Tuesday night and they will face Stade Malien in the CAF Champions League on Friday.
Next week, they will host Marumo Gallants on Tuesday before locking horns with the Malians in Bamako next weekend. Cardoso, is not a happy man.
“From the seven teams no one has matches in between the two legs, Stade Malien have nine days to prepare for this match, Esperance have seven days to prepare, Al Ahly have six days to prepare, AS Far has six days, Pyramids five days to prepare, Berkane six days, Al Hilal 12 days and all teams don’t play between matches.”
Stade Malien was the surprise package in the group stage, finishing on top of the group that also featured Tunisians Esperance, Angolans Petro de Luanda and Tanzanians Simba.
Cardoso is expecting two very tough matches against the Malians.
“We expect two tough matches, there are no underdogs anymore, we will face a team that finished first in a group that had very big teams, but we know what we are capable of.”
Sundowns will be aiming to go all the way in the competition this season after losing to Pyramids from Egypt in the final last season. They are also on a good run, winning seven matches in a row in the league this year. Defender Grant Kekana says they have prepared well for the match.
“As players we are in good spirits. We are also on a good run; the confidence is high especially going into this stage of the Champions League. We know what is expected but we have prepared quite well and we know what is expected from us.”
The Malians made history by reaching the Champions League quarterfinal for the first time this season and they will be the underdogs against former champions Sundowns.
Speaking through an interpreter, their coach Mauril Mesack Njoya says they are here to compete.
“Football has a lot of surprises. the so-called small teams can beat big teams, we go for a win against all the teams, and the Champions League is where we want to be.”

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