Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro and Mamelodi Sundowns counterpart Miguel Cardosa share some tips during their Betweay Premiership clash this past weekend.
Image: Itumeleng English Independent Media
In the wake of his team's defeat to Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso weighed in with a scathing critique of his team's performance following their "brainless" first-half display at the FNB Stadium on Saturday. Cardoso shared snippets of his half-time talk with the media in a post-match interview.
He said: "We played until half-time with heart but no brain; the brain stayed in the locker room (after the start of the match)."
Some of the fallout from Sundowns' defeat was Cardoso's palpable frustration. When referee Luxolo Badi blew the final whistle, Cardoso stormed down the tunnel, although he didn't go too far as he was on hand for the pitch-side TV interview shortly afterwards. Just before the TV interviews started, Cardoso was spotted talking to his opposite number.
At the end of the match, however, the victorious Pirates coach, Jose Riveiro, basking in the glory of his FNB conquest, walked over to shake hands with the Sundowns camp. Only assistant coach Steve Komphela was on hand to greet him. Komphela seemed baffled by Cardoso's absence as he looked around for him.
Some were still making their way into Kaizer Chiefs' traditional home ground when match-day hosts Pirates scored four minutes into the match. Sundowns were still pondering what had hit them when they found themselves 0-2 down a minute later.
“When you start a game like this, you should not expect good things," said Cardoso. "We had a good reaction after the goals, but played until half-time with heart but no brain. Football is mostly played with the brain.”
“After going 2-0 up, Pirates settled down at the back, waiting for nothing, looking for nothing. Sometimes football is like this, but there’s nothing to say about their strategy. We were penalised by our unfortunate entrance into the game, that’s it."
Cardoso said the soaking-wet FNB pitch reduced the match to a slip-and-slide affair in the second half.
“In the second half, we brought more brains to the pitch. Unfortunately, there were periods in the game where the referee allowed no one to play.
"Everybody kept falling to the ground, and there was no football. It is a shame, but it is what it was, and that took out our energy. If that was the strategy, it was a good strategy."
Despite his criticisms earlier, Cardoso expressed a measure of positivity at the end of the press conference as he shifted to a more optimistic outlook. He said he does not feel like a loser despite the scoreline.
“I lost the game, but I don't feel like a loser because I felt that my team fought until the end for a result,” said Cardoso.
“I am sure that both Pirates and Sundowns will still lose points because they have tough matches to play, but let's hope we can minimise losses. It would be fantastic if we won all our matches until the end.
"If not, we will hope Pirates drop points. This championship will be open until the end, for sure.”
Sundowns will have a break from the Premiership, and many of their players will be on national team duty for a few days. After that, on Tuesday, 1 April, Sundowns will play the first leg of the CAF Champions League quarter-finals against hosts Tunisian giants Esperance, Cardoso's previous team.