Keanu Cupido thought he’d be flying out to the United States for an all-expenses paid holiday when he made Mamelodi Sundowns’ final squad for the Fifa Club World Cup.
But rather than finding himself soaking up the sunshine of Florida, Cupido became an integral part of coach Miguel Cardoso’s plans. The Portugal-born coach surprisingly drafted Cupido into the starting lineup from the onset, and ended up starting the next two group matches too.
Cupido, speaking on the sidelines of the MTN8 launch this week ahead of their quarter-final tie at home to Richards Bay Sunday, admitted he was shocked after getting the nod to start.
“It’s not about (walking) straight into the team. It’s been about working behind the scenes. So, it’s just hard work that paid off,” the central defender explained.
“It did surprise me (to get the nod), because I hadn’t played for a while. So, I thought going to a major tournament like this would be a holiday for me, but God works in mysterious ways.”
Cupido 🗣 “We want to start the season very well, this is a game where we want to show up. We want to win this trophy.”
Our season kicks off this Sunday and we are ready to go! 👆 Get your tickets! 🎟 https://t.co/WZFj80ZQNt#Sundowns #MTN8 #AreyengMasandawana pic.twitter.com/OAkz1MtyJM
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) July 31, 2025
Cupido is understandably surprised. Breaking into the star-studded Sundowns team is not easy, and no coach wants to tamper with his defensive organisation.
The 27-year-old, though, insisted that he was welcomed with open arms in the starting lineup as those who played alongside him gave him words of advice.
“The players at Mamelodi Sundowns make it very easy for one of us to perform on the day,” Cupido explained. “If you go to a big game, the players will tell you: just do the basics, and simple things, then your confidence will grow. And that’s what I did.
“So that helped me a lot to settle into the first game, and from then on it was a smooth ride for me.”
Cupido didn’t only settle at Sundowns with the help of his teammates and technical team. It also took someone close to his heart to keep him going after a tough start at the club.
“In all honesty, it was tough for me at first, but my wife made it easy for me,” said Cupido, who had only made two appearances for the team prior to the Club World Cup.
“She said ‘everything works through God, if it’s his timing, then it will happen’. That kept me going.
“So, I feel she played a major part in this. She kept me motivated, head down and working hard. I think that support structure is very important.”
🏆 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡 🏆
In a league of his own! 🔥 Lucas Ribeiro your 24/25 PSL Footballer Of The Season! 👆
We are proud of you Lucas! 👏#Sundowns #PSLAwards25 pic.twitter.com/KcF3EcFS9L
— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) July 29, 2025
Cupido also credited his former Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler for pushing him after a promising start to his career.
“You need someone to trust you,” Cupido acknowledged. “At the end of Eric’s last two seasons in his last spell, he felt like he trusted me more and more.
“So, I also felt like I needed to give him back. So, since he made me the vice-captain, that gave responsibility for me as a player.
“I think it made me grow as a player as well. If you are comfortable in one spot, then you don’t grow. He needed to put more responsibility on me.”
There’ll be more responsibilities and expectations that will be placed on Cupido and Co ahead of the new season after winning the hearts of many in the US.
Cupido, though, is not fazed by that, saying the players know that their job at Sundowns comes with expectation, including giving their best season in and season out.
“We feel like we need to take care of our bodies as players firstly, and then the team will come into it when we need to do our recoveries,” Cupido said.
“We also need to look at what we eat because nutrition is very important. So that’s the thing that separates professionals from the rest.
“You could see that Tebza [Teboho Mokoena] and [Lucas] Ribeiro played so many games last season, so they are used to the workload.”
