Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed his desire to play rivals Orlando Pirates in the final of the CAF Champions League.
The two South African football giants are currently in the quarter-final of the competition. On Tuesday, both teams won 1-0 against their respective teams. Masandawana edged out Esperance 1-0 in the first leg while the Buccaneers won by the same scoreline against MC Alger.
Cardoso said a Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates Champipns League final would be good for local football
“I want to play the final of the Champions League against Pirates,” he said. “Because I’m so pleased that people who love football come to the stadium. They fill our stadium and help us to be strong.
“And people who support Mamelodi Sundowns make them [players] feel heard during the match, so that we also get the energy that teams from South Africa get when they play at home.”
Cardoso explains why he wants Orlando Pirates in the Champions League final
“We love those ambiences. We really love those ambiences. Those ambiances should also highlight the best of the players. So that’s also something we’d like to have so that we can indeed feel that excitement because a Champions League match is not any match. It’s something else.
“And the ambience you can put in the stadium can help us, obviously, to get a little bit of extra energy in the moments that we need for it,” Cardoso said.
Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates can only meet each other in the CAF Champions League final.
Do you think Sundowns and Pirates will meet in the final?
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