Mamelodi Sundowns and a frequent changeover of coaches has never been an unfamiliar concept, but the last two alterations could well return them to the sorry pre-Pitso Mosimane era which catapulted a flurry of chancers into the team’s hot seat.
The removal of coach Manqoba Mngqithi and goalkeeper coach Wendell Robinson this week – just five months after Rulani Mokwena was similarly unceremoniously jettisoned – signals a worrisome trend that could undo all the good that has turned the club into a continental monster it wants to be.
Owner Patrice Motsepe had that kind of vision of conquering the continent when he acquired Sundowns wholly from the Tsichlas and Krok families, but one of his biggest mistakes was a constant investment in overseas, big-reputation coaches who barely got the club to where he wanted.
In fact, except for Argentines Angel Cappa and Miguel Gamondi and the late Dutchman Johan Neeskens, not too many overseas coaches enjoyed tangible success at the helm of Sundowns since Motsepe took over more than 20 years ago.
Most of the trophies were garnered by local coaches, from Gordon Igesund to Neil Tovey (jointly with Gamondi), to Trott Moloto and a combination of Mosimane, Mokwena and Mngqithi, the three locals who brought an incredible haul of 17 cups since 2013/14.
Mosimane’s eight-year stay was the most resourceful because upon his departure he bequeathed the club a solid structure that kept the success machine rolling, hence the deliverance of four more league titles to add to the three he won in a row before abruptly leaving at the end of 2019/2020.
There was succession planning, but now with Mokwena and Mngqithi having departed, Sundowns could find themselves back at square one. They have hired Miguel Cardoso, the Portuguese coach whose CV is – to be kind – not the most solid around. His only plus is that he’s familiar with the CAF Champions League, having booted Sundowns out at the semifinal stage with Esperance last season.
Mngqithi obviously found the tough going, with Sundowns suffering an ignominious defeat to Magesi in the Carling Knockout final last month and battling in the opening two rounds of the Champions League group phase. He probably was going to be let go in any case, because he was an inadvertent, rather than first choice, after Mokwena’s sudden departure.
But replacing him with a man of Cardoso’s questionable credentials seems ill-thought. The nomad that is Cardoso hardly holds onto a job, his longest spell being with Celta Vigo where he served for a year.
It doesn’t help that Sundowns sporting director, Flemming Berg, has stated Cardoso will be expected to win “every competition” Sundowns partake in. Such a mandate for a coach who has no notable achievements is unrealistic.
Berg was key in Mokwena’s departure despite the coach scaling new heights in the domestic league, and losing out on the Champions League at the semifinals. That now is the benchmark Cardoso must attain. He has to lead Sundowns to another league title and go to the Champions League final to have a better season than Mokwena.
As we have pointed out before, Berg could well be an indirect weapon of destruction at Sundowns, as he sets unreasonable targets when he doesn’t have to personally be held liable for failure.
He has curiously rescued Cardoso from the doldrums of unemployment with more hope, rather than conviction, that he can rescue a ship that didn’t need any rescuing. With Mngqithi leaving this week, the blueprint that Mosimane left is now completely gone, and we should brace for that period of madness when coaches were summoned on a Sunday afternoon to be sacked while their replacement was driven in from the airport.
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