History beckons Cardoso and Sundowns in Champions League clash with AS FAR Rabat

It’s been 10 years since South African side Mamelodi Sundowns claimed their maiden CAF Champions League title when they beat Egyptian heavyweights Zamalek. A decade after that historic victory, reached under the guidance of the pioneering Pitso Mosimane, they have an opportunity to repeat what has proven to be an elusive feat.

Unless the team is Al Ahly, the most ­successful club in Champions League history with a record 12 titles, even reaching the final of Africa’s premier club competition is a rare achievement. Sundowns know this well. The Brazilians beat Tunisian side Espérance 2-0 on aggregate to reach just their fourth final in the coveted tournament.

Significantly for Sundowns, this is their second successive Champions League final. They were also in the 2025 decider, which was their first appearance in nine years.

In the years before that, they continuously stumbled in the quarterfinal and semifinal stages. In last season’s final they failed to conquer Egypt’s Pyramids and suffered a 3-2 aggregate loss in the two-legged final.

Another Champions League shot

A year later they are back and ready to right their wrongs. However, it won’t be any easier in 2026. They face Morocco’s AS FAR Rabat. It’s only the north African club’s second Champions League final, but they have been one of the most consistent teams in their domestic league, claiming top-two finishes in the past three seasons. They also won the competition in 1985, before it morphed into its current form.

This may be the second successive ­Champions League final for Sundowns, but it’s the third for their Portuguese coach, Miguel Cardoso. He is in great company, too. Only two ­other coaches have reached three or more successive finals in the Champions League, most recently Mosimane when he was still with Sundowns.

The 61-year-old tactician achieved the impressive feat at Al Ahly between 2020 and 2022. He was victorious in two of the three finals.

Then there is Cardoso’s compatriot, Manuel José. The most successful coach in Champions League history (with four overall titles) reached four consecutive deciders, also with Egyptian giants Ahly. José won three of those between 2005 and 2008.

Cardoso’s time to shine?

Cardoso is the first coach to reach three finals in a row with two different teams. His first was with Espérance in 2024 and his second with Sundowns last year. Of course Cardoso wants to win a Champions League title, but he is also elated that he is in such elite company.

“I’m a person that is grateful in life. For everything that happens, rather than what does not happen. What will speak for my career is when I am retired and I look back [at my achievements],” he said.

“For example, in the history of African football, there have only been three coaches who have reached three Champions League finals in a row. One is a fellow Portuguese Manuel José, who achieved the feat with Al Ahly, as well as Pitso [Mosimane], who also did it with Ahly, and then myself.

“So, when you enter into such a group of coaches, you must just enjoy it, because it shows you the level that you are at. Just enjoy it,” Cardoso said. “Wanting more [by wanting to win the title]? Everybody wants more. But I’m thankful for what life gives me.”

But he acknowledged that the ambition of winning the title needed to be tempered with a dose of realism. “The team [AS FAR Rabat] that we will face in the final is on the level of Sundowns. They have developed a very strong team. So we head into this final with respect. Whoever thinks this final will be easy for Sundowns and not as difficult as the semifinal we played against Espérance is completely wrong. It may be even more difficult.”

Sundowns pressure

Despite his continental success, Cardoso and his technical team have not been immune to criticism, especially because of Sundowns’ struggles in domestic cup competitions. Although they are perennially dominant in the Premiership (they are chasing their ninth consecutive league title), they last won a domestic knockout cup when they claimed the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup in the 2021-22 season.

Under Cardoso, Sundowns’ style of play is more pragmatic. Under his predecessor, Rulani Mokwena, the Brazilians lived up to their nickname, dancing around domestic opponents with ease. They lost just one Premiership game during the 2023-24 season, Mokwena’s final at the helm before he was fired.

Manqoba Mngqithi took over the reins briefly at the start of the 2024-25 campaign, before the Sundowns hierarchy dismissed him in favour of Cardoso.

When Cardoso was put in the hot seat, supporters were concerned about the direction he would take the club, fearing it would move away from its fluid and entertaining style of play.

Earlier this season, some Sundowns supporters were calling for the coach’s head. Success in the Champions League will send him to the upper echelons of Sundowns history. Cardoso says he is not perturbed by external criticism.

Best platform

“Those kinds of people don’t make my life. I live through the energy of the ones that are important to me,” Cardoso said. “I’ve always known that I would stay. My staff knew that I would stay, the club knew I would stay and even my players knew that I would stay. The ones who wanted me out were not people with the power and capacity to decide my fate.”

He said he did not look at this moment in the CAF Champions League as an individual achievement. “I look at it as a Sundowns achievement. It’s the players’ achievement; they are the ones who perform on the pitch. They are the ones with high levels of commitment.

“I just try to facilitate the best platform for them to perform. That’s it. Beyond that, I’m at peace. I’m already 54 years old and I have to enjoy life. One day life will finish for everybody. So I don’t depend on my day-to-day work, which brings me the peace of existing as a human being.”

As is traditionally the case, the league final will be played over two legs. The first is scheduled for the weekend of 15 May in ­Pretoria, with the second set for 24 May in Rabat. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.