Miguel Cardoso wary of FC Saint-Eloi Lupopo's sideshows, suggests how Mamelodi Sundowns will handle Congolese opponents and avoid being distracted in CAF Champions League tie

Mamelodi Sundowns host FC Saint-Eloi Lupopo in their CAF Champions League match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, aiming to begin their Group C campaign on a high. 

The Brazilians would want to set the tone early in this group which also has MC Alger and Al Hilal.

On Saturday, they come up against a Lupopo side that recently made headlines during their visit to Orlando Pirates in the second preliminary round, where their antics drew widespread attention. 

Some of the Congolese players stole the show with their disruptive behaviour, adding intrigue to that clash. 

Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has outlined how his team plans to manage Lupopo should the Congolese side resort to their antics. 

.“We try always, and I try to make players understand that any emotion you have that is not proper to play a football match, should be left in the locker room, and whatever happens inside the pitch will always be managed emotionally in the right way from the players,” Cardoso said as per iDiski Times.

“You remember when we played at home in Esperance, there was a clash with the players and you saw how aggressive I was to take them out of that mix of players, of confusion, of noise, I always want the players to keep their minds and their focus on their behaviours, and some emotions that are negative, we need to allow keeping players on their path.       

“Even myself, sometimes there’s things that happen that has nothing to do with the game, I stay more – not happy, it affects my emtoions, as I’m a human being but we need to know where we are, what’s the plan, what’s happening on the pitch," added the Portuguese tactician.       

“Should we correct something, what will we do at half-time, what videos we can show, should we change the plan, what players can come in and give something more, if we don’t keep our minds on this, we won’t make good decisions.       

“I’m always the last one to enter the pitch, as I escape negative emotions as much as I can, so I can focus on my job – it’s what the players must do, in a group stage match, things won’t happen in the same way as [the Pirates game], there was more attention, more pressure – there were fines that happened," the former Esperance coach continued.       

“It was a special match with a lot of pressure on Lupopo to write history, and that brought emotions, too much and was not handled with the right behaviour, I don’t think that will happen, it will be a football match, only a football, that’s how my players will think about it throughout the 90 minutes.”

If any drama unfolds between Sundowns and Lupopo, the former's experience in the Champions League would be vital in helping them stay composed. 

This is a match in which the Brazilians will need to keep their focus, with the bigger mission being nothing less than lifting this continental trophy. 

Sundowns enter the contest fully aware of the pressure on them after they were losing finalists last season, beaten by eventual champions Pyramids FC. 

Failure again to win this season’s Champions League could place Cardoso’s tenure as Masandawana coach in a precarious position. 

There was already visible frustration directed at him from a section of Sundowns fans after last season’s near-miss. 

That makes this campaign even more critical, as Cardoso and his players look to silence critics by conquering the continent for the first time since 2016.

Cardoso is already feeling the pressure as Sundowns struggle to find their usual dominance on the domestic front this season. 

Their inconsistent displays have raised concerns ahead of this tricky clash against Lupopo. 

The Congolese side will fancy their chances of causing an upset, the way they frustrated Pirates.