Mamelodi Sundowns boss Motsepe defends Miguel Cardoso amid concerns over coach's Curriculum Vitae and compares ex-Spanish La Liga manager to Liverpool FC legend Jurgen Klopp - 'His CV is one that I think it's better spoken than read'

Mamelodi Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe has backed the club's new head coach Miguel Cardoso despite concerns about his seemingly inadequate Curriculum Vitae.

Motsepe compared Cardoso to legendary German coach Jurgen Klopp who established himself as one of the best coaches in the world during his time with Borussia Dortmund.

Klopp, who won five trophies with Dortmund including two Bundesliga titles, attracted interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United, but he joined Liverpool in 2015 and enjoyed more success with the Reds.

Cardoso, who embarked on his head coach career at Rio Ave in his native Portugal in 2017, won his maiden major trophy at Esperance de Tunis - guiding the team to the Tunisian Ligue 1 title after joining the team midway through the 2023/24 season.

Motsepe is confident that Cardoso has the potential to become a Sundowns legend by collecting trophies as Klopp did with Liverpool, despite not having a significant record in his previous clubs having battled relegation in Portugal and Spain with Celta Vigo.

"Coach Miguel's CV is one that I think it's better spoken than read. If you had a chance to speak to the coach about his experiences in Rio Ave, in France, when he was at Shakhtar Donetsk, you would understand how much he learned and developed, the challenges and improvements he made to those teams," Motsepe told the media. 

"And with all due respect to all the teams he coached, he didn't necessarily have all the tools he would have hoped to have. We see ourselves as an opportunity for a club he can achieve greater success with.

"The one title, nobody wants to speak about other coaches, but when Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool, he didn't have the most decorated CV, but now he leaves the club as a legend," he added. 

"All masters and legends start somewhere. We hope this is a club where he starts to write his legend." 

Cardoso was appointed as Sundowns coach earlier this week after the club ended its relationship with Manqoba Mngqithi, despite his strong start to the PSL campaign with the team.

The 52-year-old coach began his tenure with Downs with a win as his team triumphed over Raja Casablanca in a Caf Champions League group stage match in Pretoria on Sunday.

Securing his first victory could provide him the essential confidence having embarked on a new journey at a club where winning all trophies is a must.

Cardoso will be hoping for a fruitful tenure with Sundowns, where he faces significant pressure to win the Caf Champions League title, which seems to be the club’s primary focus.

The former AEK Athens coach will be aiming to guide Masandawana to another win when they face Stellenbosch FC in a PSL encounter on Wednesday.