Miguel Cardoso believes his success as a trophy-winning coach has been helped by the opportunities and resources he has received at Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Portuguese arrived at Sundowns in 2024 after a coaching career that had taken him through Portugal, Ukraine, France, Spain, Greece and Tunisia. His breakthrough came at Espérance, where he won the Tunisian league and guided the club to the 2024 CAF Champions League final.
Espérance eventually lost to Al-Ahly, but their run included a semi-final victory over Sundowns. That performance helped attract the attention of sporting director Flemming Berg and ultimately brought Cardoso to Chloorkop.
He responded by winning the Premiership in his first season before taking Sundowns to their long-awaited second African title last campaign.
READ: ‘We Need to Be Very Ambitious’: Miguel Cardoso sets Mamelodi Sundowns’ sights on MTN8 title
“I found myself being a coach who wanted to develop and who had the chance to enter clubs where he would be ready to challenge for victories and give answers to those challenges,” Cardoso told Masandawana TV.
“It was transformative when I had the chance to go to Tunisia and coming here to really match the demands with the resources that I have because that’s the biggest problem.”
Cardoso believes that change in circumstances has been crucial to his recent success.
“When I speak to young coaches, they ask what’s happening because I’m winning and getting trophies,” he said. “I tell them it’s because I now have the conditions to achieve them.”
With Sundowns preparing to face Orlando Pirates in Sunday’s MTN8 final, Cardoso is already looking beyond another domestic cup.
Pirates ended Sundowns’ record run of eight consecutive league titles last season, and the Portuguese wants the championship back.
“We will have championship matches to play at a high level because that’s the competition that we need to regain,” he said.
He also identified the CAF Super Cup as a major target, with Sundowns chasing the possibility of adding a third continental trophy within six months.