Miguel Cardoso admits Mamelodi Sundowns lacked spark

The Egyptians were crowned winners following a 3-2 aggregate victory over two legs, having dominated Sunday’s second leg at 30 June Stadium, to not only claim their maiden continental title but also qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. 

Cardoso admits they lacked the spark needed for a game of this magnitude.

"The fact that I am not happy doesn't mean I'm not proud of everything we did until the moment we arrived in this final, but at the same time I think something was missed for us to be at the level we needed in order to win," said Cardoso.

"It's not a question of who was the best or who was worse, because when there's a winner it means they were better, but what I feel is that in some moments we didn't find a way to compete at the level that we should have competed to win the trophy.

"Anyway, there are not many players or coach, or members of staff, or board members, or many clubs that play in the CAF Champions League finals and have the right to win a medal."

In elaborating further on where Sundowns fell short, Cardoso acknowledged that Pyramids perhaps seemed to want the win more. 

"When I say that it's important to compete at a high level, that's exactly the answer that I had given so many times during the season, when playing Champions League matches, by journalists in South Africa," he added.

"Why is it so difficult to play against teams from the north of Africa? Because those teams compete at a very high level, every duel is a life changer, and every ball they fight for they fight with all the energy they have.

"In some moments I felt that was something missing on our part, so that the way we play can then appear more on the pitch, because I don't think we are worse in football playing than Pyramids, and I think that was shown in both matches.

"But Pyramids was very confident and very capable to position in a way that stopped us from playing the way we wanted, but most of all they gave their lives in every ball they were playing for, and that, at this level, sometimes makes the difference."

READ: Cardoso reprimands negative comment on Sundowns title win