Al Ahly defeated Al Hilal 2-0 on aggregate to qualify for the semifinal, where they will face their old enemies Sundowns. The first leg will be in Tshwane on April 18 with the return leg set for April 25.
“We know that Al Ahly has won many Champions League trophies in the last seven or eight years. Last year, unfortunately, I lost a final against them, but I think it is possible to beat them,” Cardoso told the Sundowns media department.
“We need to play complete and strong games, playing on the details for sure. It is not that far away, we still have the Nedbank Cup game [against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday in the semifinal] to play and that should be our focus now. We will then think about the Al Ahly game after.”
Having coached Esperance before where he guided them to a final before losing to Al Ahly, Cardoso admitted knowing them gave him advantage in the quarterfinal.
Masandawana produced a solid performance in their goalless draw, which was enough to see them book a place in the semifinal.
“It helped me to prepare emotionally for the players. I said before that we need to keep the emotions in the right direction. The players focused on what they had to do and followed everything, I saw a positive attitude. I think the players enjoyed playing against a strong team,” he said.
“It was not an easy match, but I also didn't expect it to be easy. We knew what level of a game we had to play against the team we were playing. We should remember that this team played the final of the Champions League, but we knew that we had the capacity and quality if we played the right way to beat them.
“The challenge we put to the players was how can we be stronger to beat Esperance and I think tactically we approached the game in the right way, so we can control the offensive capacity and look at the possibility of scoring the goal.”
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It is possible to beat Al Ahly – Cardoso on Champs League semis opponents
Image: Lefty Shivambu
After defeating his former side Esperance to knock them out of the CAF Champions League, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has set his sights on Al Ahly in the semifinal of the continental competition.
Cardoso guided Sundowns to a 1-0 aggregate win against Esperance after winning 1-0 at home before playing to a goalless draw in Tunisia on Tuesday evening.
Al Ahly defeated Al Hilal 2-0 on aggregate to qualify for the semifinal, where they will face their old enemies Sundowns. The first leg will be in Tshwane on April 18 with the return leg set for April 25.
“We know that Al Ahly has won many Champions League trophies in the last seven or eight years. Last year, unfortunately, I lost a final against them, but I think it is possible to beat them,” Cardoso told the Sundowns media department.
“We need to play complete and strong games, playing on the details for sure. It is not that far away, we still have the Nedbank Cup game [against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday in the semifinal] to play and that should be our focus now. We will then think about the Al Ahly game after.”
Having coached Esperance before where he guided them to a final before losing to Al Ahly, Cardoso admitted knowing them gave him advantage in the quarterfinal.
Masandawana produced a solid performance in their goalless draw, which was enough to see them book a place in the semifinal.
“It helped me to prepare emotionally for the players. I said before that we need to keep the emotions in the right direction. The players focused on what they had to do and followed everything, I saw a positive attitude. I think the players enjoyed playing against a strong team,” he said.
“It was not an easy match, but I also didn't expect it to be easy. We knew what level of a game we had to play against the team we were playing. We should remember that this team played the final of the Champions League, but we knew that we had the capacity and quality if we played the right way to beat them.
“The challenge we put to the players was how can we be stronger to beat Esperance and I think tactically we approached the game in the right way, so we can control the offensive capacity and look at the possibility of scoring the goal.”
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