Should coach Cardoso be fired after Sundowns' loss in the Champions League final?
It might seem crazy to ask whether a coach who has just steered his team to the final of the Caf Champions League, but lost, should keep his job. However, there are heated discussions on social media as fans debate the point.
Portuguese Miguel Cardoso, who arrived at Sundowns in December to replace Manqoba Mngqithi — with the Brazilians' battles in the group stage a major reason for the change — took Downs to the final, as he had with Esperance de Tunis in his previous campaign.
As with Esperance, who lost 1-0 on aggregate to Al Ahly, Cardoso could not steer Sundowns to the trophy, which would have been their first Champions League title since winning Africa's premier interclub competition in 2016. It was their first final in the competition since then.
Many will argue Downs were unfortunate in their 3-2 aggregate final defeat against Egypt's Pyramids FC.
In the first leg at Loftus Versfeld two Saturdays ago, Walid El Karti's equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw came deep in added time, in the final seconds.
In the second leg two superb saves off his legs by Pyramids goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy denied Tashreeq Matthews and Peter Shalulile almost certain goals.
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