Miguel Cardoso unfazed by Sundowns’ cup hoodoo against Pirates | OneFootball

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Cardoso confident despite Downs' cup hoodoo

Photo:Lefty Shivambu/ Gallo Images

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says he is unfazed by the Brazilians’ previous cup hoodoo against the Buccaneers, ahead of the two teams’ meeting in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

While Masandawana are a dominant force in the Betway Premiership, they have often stumbled in domestic cup competitions, particularly against Pirates, whom they fell to in the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup final during the 2023/24 season.

But the Downs mentor insists past results won’t affect the outcome of the sold-out spectacle in Soweto, stressing that he was not yet in charge when the Tshwane giants suffered the heartache at the expense of the then-Jose Riveiro coached team.

“It’s not really something I relate with regarding the past; I never look at the past, I just want to write the future and live the present in order to write the future. I was not even here when cups were played between the two teams,” said Cardoso.

“It’s the first time we are going to play each other in a cup match, and I stated before that these kinds of matches, the first whistle puts us in another dimension and the team that may have been better or worse in the match before, has nothing to do with this [upcoming] match.

“It’s a story that is completely different, there’s a lot of emotions behind, a lot of ambiences around. There’s a lot of players that in these matches show themselves in levels that before they didn’t show. What’s important is that the team that wants to win must show a different standard and be the best.

The Portuguese mentor will be determined to end the club’s domestic cup drought as they last tasted victory in the 2021/22 campaign under the dual tutelage of coach Rulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi.