{"id":8102,"date":"2025-06-02T09:21:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T07:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=8102"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:33:40","slug":"miguel-cardoso-salutes-sundowns-grit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/miguel-cardoso-salutes-sundowns-grit\/","title":{"rendered":"Miguel Cardoso Salutes Mamelodi Sundowns&#8217; Grit After CAF Final Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed pride and optimism following his team\u2019s narrow defeat to Pyramids FC in the CAF Champions League final on Sunday evening in Cairo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite a 2-1 loss on the night\u2014and a 3-2 aggregate defeat over two legs\u2014Cardoso was full of admiration for his side&#8217;s remarkable journey in the continent&#8217;s premier club competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mamelodi-sundowns-fall-just-short-in-egypt\"><strong>Mamelodi Sundowns Fall Just Short in Egypt<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After a 1-1 draw in Pretoria, the Tshwane giants faced a tall order in the return leg in Cairo. The challenge intensified when Pyramids FC took the lead through Fiston Mayele in the opening 25 minutes. The Egyptian side doubled their advantage shortly after the hour mark thanks to a strike from Ahmed Samy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sundowns showed resilience as Iqraam Rayners gave the visitors hope with a goal in the 75th minute. However, it wasn\u2019t enough to overturn the deficit, with the away goal rule falling short of granting the Brazilians continental glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/sXwdx8W_aF4\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-4038407844\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-journey-worth-remembering\"><strong>A Journey Worth Remembering<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Reflecting on the campaign, Miguel Cardoso highlighted the calibre of opponents his team overcame to reach the final. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe eliminated Al Ahly, who remain the top-ranked club in Africa, and beat Esperance, who are second. These are no small achievements,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>He further emphasised the team\u2019s progress since his arrival. \u201cWhen I joined the club, there was still a challenge getting past the group stages. We faced a difficult group that included Raja Casablanca and AS FAR, yet we made it through. That speaks volumes about how far this team has come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-consistency-across-all-fronts\"><strong>Consistency Across All Fronts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It has been a season of success domestically, with <a href=\"https:\/\/iol.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/2025-06-02-mamelodi-sundowns-miguel-cardoso-expresses-pride-despite-caf-champions-league-final-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sundowns <\/a>clinching their eighth consecutive league title. This sustained dominance, paired with their deep run in the Champions League, is something Cardoso sees as a major positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe level of discipline, effort, and skill our players displayed throughout the tournament has been exceptional. Reaching the final is not something to overlook, and it fills me with pride,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1924011797\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-miguel-cardoso-these-players-will-rise-again\"><strong>Miguel Cardoso &#8211; \u201cThese Players Will Rise Again\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although visibly disappointed with the final result, Cardoso expressed confidence in his squad\u2019s resilience and character. \u201cLosing a final hurts. It\u2019s deeply disappointing. But I have a dressing room full of exceptional men. Right now, they are heartbroken, but they will rise again. That\u2019s what true champions do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The defeat may sting, but the message from Cardoso is clear: Sundowns are on the right path. The club\u2019s achievements this season both domestically and continentally have laid a strong foundation for future glory. With Cardoso at the helm and a squad full of talent and resolve, the dream of conquering Africa remains very much alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/pyramids-fc-beat-mighty-mamelodi-sundowns\/\">Pyramids FC Crowned Kings of Africa After Downing Mighty Mamelodi Sundowns<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed pride and optimism following his team\u2019s narrow defeat to Pyramids FC in the CAF Champions League final on Sunday evening in Cairo. Despite a 2-1 loss on the night\u2014and a 3-2 aggregate defeat over two legs\u2014Cardoso was full of admiration for his side&#8217;s remarkable journey in the continent&#8217;s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed pride and optimism following his team\u2019s narrow defeat to Pyramids FC in the CAF Champions League final on...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[374,360,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-8102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-cafcl","10":"tag-mamelodi-sundowns","11":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8105,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8102\/revisions\/8105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}