Former Mamelodi Sundowns striker Ishmael Maluleke believes Miguel Cardoso has run out of time at Chloorkop, arguing that the Portuguese coach is no longer the right man to lead the club following their latest continental disappointment.
Sundowns’ 3-1 defeat to USM Alger in Sunday’s CAF Super Cup has intensified scrutiny of Cardoso, coming just weeks after the Brazilians suffered a shock exit from the CAF Champions League in the second preliminary round.
Although Cardoso guided Sundowns to their first continental crown in a decade last season and secured the MTN8 earlier in the current campaign, questions have increasingly been raised about the team’s performances and playing identity.
Speaking on Radio 2000, Maluleke was particularly critical of the suggestion that the coach should simply be given more time to turn things around.
“Sometimes coaches say how we play doesn’t matter as long as we win but at Sundowns it matters,” he said.
“But what is there to rescue? For me I think Sundowns doesn’t have a man that can lead at the moment, and they need to get someone else.”
Cardoso signed a new contract before the start of the season and is understood to retain the backing of the club’s hierarchy. His Champions League triumph last season remains a significant achievement, but Maluleke believes the warning signs have been visible for some time.
The former Manning Rangers, AmaZulu and Jomo Cosmos forward suggested that Sundowns’ recent success had masked deeper problems, particularly when compared with the football produced under previous coaches Pitso Mosimane and Rulani Mokwena.
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“I’m not surprised because this has been forthcoming. I mean Sundowns has been going through a slump for a long time and we have been saying that but unfortunately because sometimes when you get results, people will assume that you’re doing well,” he said.
Maluleke, who won the PSL Top Goalscorer Award after scoring 18 goals for Manning Rangers in the 2001-02 season, believes the club’s current difficulties were inevitable.
For Sundowns, the immediate challenge is to arrest their decline before questions over Cardoso’s future become impossible to ignore.