Cardoso under pressure before Sundowns’ decisive CAF Champions League final trip

RABAT: Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso heads into Sunday’s second leg of the CAF Champions League final under mounting pressure as his side defend a 1-0 advantage against Moroccan club FAR Rabat in what has been described as the most valuable club match staged in Africa.

The final will be shown in more than 100 countries, with the winners of Africa’s premier club competition set to receive a record $6 million. The champions will also earn the opportunity to collect another $500,000 by winning the CAF Super Cup. In addition, the team that lifts the title at the 70,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium will secure at least $9.5 million as a qualifier for the 2029 Club World Cup.

Sundowns were among four African teams at the first edition of the world club championship in the United States last year and returned with $12.5 million. That total included the $9.5 million participation fee, $2 million for defeating South Korea’s Ulsan and $1 million for drawing with Brazil’s Fluminense.

The second edition of the world club championship is due in 2029. Egyptian side Pyramids have already booked a place after defeating Sundowns in the 2025 Champions League final. They will be joined by the winners of the next three editions, beginning with the outcome of the FAR-Sundowns tie. Both finalists have won the African title once.

Cardoso chasing first trophy with Sundowns

Portuguese coach Cardoso has now taken clubs to the last two Champions League finals but fell short with Esperance of Tunisia in 2024 and with Sundowns last season. No coach has reached three successive Champions League finals and lost all of them since the competition began in 1964.

Among the notable precedents, Portuguese coach Manuel Jose led Egypt’s Al Ahly to four consecutive finals from 2005 and won three, while another Al Ahly coach, South African Pitso Mosimane, reached three in a row and won two.

In his first full campaign in charge of the Pretoria club, Cardoso has yet to win silverware and has already missed out in three domestic knockout competitions. A day before Sundowns face FAR, Orlando Pirates could clinch the South African Premiership with a win over relegation-threatened Orbit College.

If Pirates are crowned champions, Sundowns’ run of eight straight South African league titles will come to an end. Should Sundowns then lose to FAR, they would finish the season without a trophy after competing for four in South Africa and one on the continent.

Speaking to reporters, Cardoso said his side should have built a bigger lead in the first leg.

We could have scored one more goal and created a greater advantage.

he said.

That may have been a reference to Brayan Leon missing a clear chance and a Teboho Mokoena free-kick striking the post. Cardoso also expressed confidence ahead of the return leg.

Provided we take the energy exhibited in the first match into the return game, we can become African champions again.

he said.

Contrasting coaches and key selection issue

FAR will also be led by a Portuguese coach, with Alexandre Santos in the dugout. Santos, who is four years younger than Cardoso, is pursuing his first African trophy.

a marked contrast in the touchline behaviour of the two men. Cardoso is animated in his technical area and regularly issues instructions, while Santos often remains still for long stretches, showing little emotion and at times covering his mouth as he watches the game unfold.

Santos said the goal his side conceded in South Africa came down to individual quality rather than a defensive mistake.

The goal we conceded in South Africa was not our fault, but the great ability of a Sundowns player.

Santos said, referring to Aubrey Modiba’s powerful free-kick.

Modiba could miss the second leg after going off injured last weekend. If he is unavailable, Zimbabwe international Divine Lungu is expected to replace him.

History offers no clear guide

A Sundowns victory would end a sequence of nine consecutive Champions League triumphs by North African clubs, including two by Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca, since the South African team won the title in 2016.

Past finals offer little certainty. Of the six clubs that carried a 1-0 lead into the second leg of a final, three went on to win the title and three did not. The decider could therefore be settled by away goals or even a penalty shootout.

FAR’s home form on the way to the final has been strong, with five wins and two draws. Sundowns, by contrast, have won two, drawn two and lost two of their away matches in the competition.