Mamelodi Sundowns Coach Lauded for Matching Rulani Mokwena - ‘He’s Done Incredibly Well’

While Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has come under fire this season, an analyst feels he has done a brilliant job in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), same as ex-tactician Rulani Mokwena.

Cardoso has been slammed by fans for what they describe to be a “boring style” and inconsistent run of results with his team winning in moments rather than subduing an opponent like it was under Mokwena and his predecessor Pitso Mosimane.

However, South African football analyst Grant de Smidt insists the Portuguese coach deserves his flowers for maintaining the high standards set by Mokwena, whose team recorded 70 and 73 points in his last two seasons respectively.

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Mokwena’s team set the PSL record points haul of 73 in 2023-24, his last season at the club, when they lost only one match, with Cardoso managing 72 last season in his debut campaign.

“If we look at Cardoso as a PSL coach, he’s done incredibly well,” De Smidt said on SoccerBeat. “If you just take all his games and his points and compare to Rulani’s season, it is basically the same.”

“So, he has done incredibly well in the PSL. You cannot say it has been a big downturn in PSL form compared to Rulani,” he added, before explaining how Cardoso compares to Mokwena.

“Rulani’s season where he was nearly unbeaten, they lost the last game, he had 73 points and Cardoso against his PSL run would be about 72.5 points in a season.”

Cardoso’s team has, however, fallen off somewhat this season as they have 32 points from 15 games, but can still match last season’s tally of 72 or even surpass given there are 45 more points to play for in the remaining 15 games.

Sundowns will need to win 13 games to be sure of getting to that level but that looks to be difficult given their shaky form and the improved run of Orlando Pirates, who have 35 points from 15 matches, and Kaizer Chiefs, who have so far managed 30.