THE PLAYERS of Mamelodi Sundowns will have no sign of humiliating themselves because of the joy of this team from Chloorkop in the Caf Champions League final when they face Stellenbosch FC in the Betway Premiership tomorrow at 7.30 pm, at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria.
A win for Sudowns in this game will move Orlando Pirates to the top, which is the top of the log but is ahead in terms of games.
Sundowns are on a roll these days following their inclusion in the finals of the Champions League by winning against Esperance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia, 2-0 after combining the results of both legs.
Although Cardoso highlights that his inclusion of Sundowns in the Caf final is one of the biggest things that has happened in his life, but the league title is as important to him as any other.
This team from Chloorkop has dominated the South African football league for eight seasons in a row.
Although the efforts of the Pirates this season are obvious, Cardoso’s team is the one that shows signs of strength, which is proven by the points they have collected since they have two games left in the Bucs, leaving them with two points.
“It’s good to enjoy what we did in the Champions League because it was one of our ambitions, but it wasn’t the only one, that’s why we have to come back with a little bit more to celebrate our entry into the Champions League final,” said Cardoso to the media last weekend.
“There is still a lot of work ahead of us to get what we want at the end of the season. The difficulty starts with Stellenbosch, which is one of the teams that you have to spend time with when planning for them.
“What I will not accept is that my players enjoy the Champions League until they forget the hard work that we still have to do in these competitions that we are still a part of.
“I’m happy because most of the Sundowns players are used to being in this situation, so my only concern is that no one goes out of the way or shows signs of taking the games that are left behind in the league a little too lightly.
“We are going to face a team that is fighting for something like us, so it forces us to hold ourselves tight so that even if the Champions League celebrations continue for the fans, the mindset of the players does not shift from what we want to achieve,” said Cardoso.