Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed satisfaction with the club’s new signings but insists that the competition for places has become fiercer than ever.
The Brazilians entered the 2025/26 season with high expectations, targeting silverware and aiming to finally lift the CAF Champions League trophy after several near misses in recent years. Their campaign has gotten off to a strong start, highlighted by a dominant 7-1 aggregate victory over Nigerian side Remo Stars in the second preliminary round.
However, Cardoso has also had to navigate a few early-season challenges, including adapting to the departures of key players such as Lucas Ribeiro Costa and Neo Maema. Despite adding several quality reinforcements, the Portuguese coach has faced tough selection dilemmas—particularly with former Stellenbosch FC defender Fawaaz Basadien, who has found regular game time hard to come by at Chloorkop so far.
“We brought four players to the team in what was not the busiest transfer market for Sundowns in the last five years, but it doesn’t mean it was not good,” Cardoso said.
Basadien, who made his mark at Stellies and was an important player for Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana, now faces strong competition for a place at Sundowns.
With South Africa having qualified for both this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and next year’s Fifa World Cup, his limited game time has put his international prospects at risk, as teammate Aubrey Modiba remains ahead of him for both club and country.
Broos previously cautioned that the former Stellies defender needed more minutes on the pitch or risked missing out on AFCON selection later this year.
Cardoso highlighted that the level of competition within the squad has increased significantly with the new arrivals, particularly in the left-back position.
“All five players have had a different process of integration. With Fawaaz, he has found himself struggling in terms of the competition—all of the left-backs are currently struggling because there is a lot of competition in the position.
“(Asekho) Tiwani is struggling, Devine Lunga is struggling, and Aubrey is on a good run at the moment, and let’s hope it can continue, but we never know.
“Fawaaz’s situation is more difficult because of the level of competition that is in the position.”
Portuguese forward Nuno Santos has been the standout among the new arrivals, and along with countryman Miguel Reisinho, is expected to play a key role this season. Cardoso has also been impressed by the progress of midfielder Tsiki Ntsabeleng.
“Tsiki arrived not at his best but we have seen him develop.” he continued.
“I was also thinking he was going to be used in the match against Remo Stars. But we had to manage two substitutions, and that took the opportunity to get him in. I had planned to play him because he has grown a lot in the last two or three weeks and he deserved to play.
“Nuno and Miguel are in two different positions. Miguel unfortunately lost the opportunity to play consistently on the team because he got the red card in the first match he played.
“That took him out of the latest match we played against Remo Stars to give him more time. For Nuno it’s different—when he arrived, he played against Golden Arrows, and he also played at home. We won and he gained confidence, winning the man of the match award in his first home game.
“It also helps that he is fluent in English, but in general the players are in a more comfortable position.”
