Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has pinpointed what it will take for his team to get over the line against AS FAR in the CAF Champions League decider on Sunday.
The Brazilians have a slender advantage at the halfway stage of the final after Aubrey Modiba’s 37th-minute free-kick secured a 1-0 win in the first leg at Loftus Versfeld last weekend.
But Cardoso is acutely aware that the second leg at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium will pose an entirely different challenge for his players as they can expect a hostile albeit electrifying atmosphere in Rabat.
Bafana Ba Style have not been at their best on the road in the competition this season, winning just one of their six matches away from home and they’ve only kept two clean sheets.
Cardoso stated that Masandawana must be ready to suffer, although he believes a collective effort will be the key to achieving glory.
“We know the difficulties that we are going to face in the second match. Of course, we want to close the season on a high note,” the Portuguese tactician said.
“We need to understand that the environment we’ll go into is a privilege. There are not many people who get to enjoy playing in such a beautiful stadium. There’ll be an electrifying ambience.
“We’ll try to reduce their strengths as much as possible. We’ll control our team as much as possible. When we have the ball, we’ll try to be compact and be strong collectively, because that is the only way we can win the Champions League.
“It will be a different match. We need to be ready for the fact that we are going to suffer. But it’s important that we apply ourselves accordingly so that the opponent doesn’t feel they can come with everything while we are not there.”
