Soccer
Sundowns sack Mngqithi, appoint Cardoso─── MORGAN PIEK 14:32 Tue, 10 Dec 2024
The Premier Soccer League champions made a major announcement on Tuesday afternoon as they sacked their head coach, Manqoba Mngqithi, less than a year in charge of the team.
The assistant coaches, Wendell Robinson and Romain Folz, have also been axed along with Mngqithi following a less-than-desirable start to the season which also saw them losing the Carling Knockout Cup final against Magesi FC in Bloemfontein.
The former Bafana Bafana captain and Bloemfontein Celtic coach, Steve Komphela, has been retained as an assistant coach.
In addition, the Pretoria-based club has announced that Miguel Cardoso will take over as the new head coach. The Portuguese coach, Cardoso has previously worked Esperance in Tunisia, as well as teams like Celta Vigo.
Cardoso was the coach of Esperance when they reached the final of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League, which they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Al Ahly of Egypt.
He also guided his former Tunisian club to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup which will be played in the USA. Cardoso brings along his technical team Fabio Fernandes, Pedro Azevedo, and João Araújo as his assistants.
Cardoso and his technical team will meet the players on Wednesday when they report for training at Chloorkop.
Sundowns’ next game is on Sunday at Loftus Versfeld when they face Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League.
