Miguel Cardoso's Mamelodi Sundowns' squad depth tested in CAF Champions League pursuit

Mamelodi Sundowns’ desire to compete in all major tournaments has forced coach Miguel Cardoso to stretch his squad and tap into its depth, but he’s not complaining as he targets success both domestically and continentally.

Sundowns are one of the most ambitious teams on the continent. As such, they find themselves on the verge of winning two of the most prized competitions this season: the Betway Premiership on home soil and the CAF Champions League in Africa.

They’ve put themselves in good stead to win a record ninth league title, sitting top of the standings with a two-point lead over rivals Orlando Pirates after 23 matches so far this season.

They’ll be aiming to make further strides towards conquering the continent for the second time in their history when they face Esperance in the CAF Champions League semi-final first leg at Stade Hammadi Agrebi in Tunis, Tunisia on Sunday night (9pm kick-off).

This is a stadium and opponent that Cardoso and Sundowns know too well. Cardoso, then with Esperance, beat Sundowns 2-0 on aggregate in the semi-final of the competition three seasons ago before helping the Brazilians to a 1-0 aggregate win over Taraji in the quarter-final last season.

Pressure has slightly mounted this season. Sundowns are chasing a win over Esperance amid the threat from Pirates to topple them in the league title race, which is why they’ve had to find a balance between the two competitions.

While it could be argued that Sundowns can manage the workload given their resources – particularly their squad depth and seamless travel arrangements – Cardoso wants to build momentum by winning matches convincingly with his best players on the park.

Cardoso has since had to stretch his squad, frequently playing key players across all competitions, including No 1 Ronwen Williams, while plugging gaps with players who’ve been waiting in the wings, such as Katlego Ntsabeleng.

Speaking after the 1-0 win over Durban City at Chatsworth Stadium on Tuesday night, before taking a flight to Tunisia on Wednesday night and landing on Thursday morning, Cardoso revealed the toll the heavy schedule takes on players.

“There’s an impact on the players when you play so many matches,” Cardoso said. “If you look at the squad and the bench, then you’ll understand that there were many players who were not here. Two important players who just came back played for the first time today, including (Thapelo) Morena.

“So, that means the aggression that we’ve been suffering has been having an impact on the team.

“Of course, the fact that the other boys raised the level is very important, but today, when we looked at the back, I was a little bit in doubt about which direction we wanted to take the game. But I count on those who are always available to have the right attitude. We must be resilient so that we can move in the right direction.”

Cardoso has been critical of not being given leeway by the PSL to postpone domestic matches so that they can focus on continental commitments, insisting that they are not only representing the club in Africa, but the league and the nation as well.

The PSL recently heeded Sundowns’ request to some extent. They restructured the schedule by allowing Sundowns to play the two matches they were supposed to juggle with the two-legged clash against Esperance immediately after the Fifa break and after the Easter weekend.

Though still taxing, Sundowns took the rearrangement head-on, beating both Chippa United and Durban City to take control of their fate in the title race, even though Pirates can still leapfrog them if they beat Richards Bay on Friday night.

“We had these two matches to play after the FIFA break and before the Champions League. We established that our objective was to get six points,” Cardoso said. “That’s what we did. We did well. We now need to prepare for the week and a half that’s coming up in Africa.”