Who is Mamelodi Sundowns' new coach Miguel Cardoso brought in to replace Manqoba Mngqithi?

Rumours surfaced on Tuesday morning that Sundowns were looking to make a change to their coaching staff.

By late morning a press conference had been announced and then Sundowns chairman, Thlopie Motsepe, confirmed that Mngqithi had been sacked and former Esperance coach Miguel Cardoso was taking over.

"The supporters deserve a high standard and we have not been able to meet those recently," Thlopie Motsepe told the assembled media.

With Sundowns top of the PSL and unbeaten after two draws in the Caf Champions League, those words will tell the new coach much about what is expected from him.

For Mngqithi, he leaves after taking a lot of fan and pundit criticism over his playing style, especially in Caf Champions League matches.

The 52-year-old was born and had his football education in Portugal, concluding a Masters in Sports Science at the University of Porto in 1998.

His coaching career started with the under-12 squad at S.C. Espinho in 1993 but worked his way through the ranks until, after a stint at Shakhtar Donetsk's under-21s, he was appointed first-team coach at Portuguese Primeira Liga club Rio Ave F.C.

After leading them to their best-ever league finish of fifth and qualifying for the Uefa Europa League, he left to join Celta Vigo, and then AEK Athens where he lasted just four matches before he was dismissed.

He returned to Rio Ave for a disappointing stint that resulted in relegation via the playoffs but landed on his feet when Esperance de Tunis offered him their head coach role where he won the only silverware of his career, the Tunisian Ligue in 2023-24, the same year he took the Moroccan club to the Caf Champions League final where they lost 1-0 over two legs to Percy Tau's Al Ahly.

Cardoso garnered international attention when he joined Celta Vigo and in his very first press conference for The Sky Blues accidentally identified his new club as their Galcian Derby rivals Deportivo de La Coruna.

Despite Steve Komphela and Kennedy Mweene staying on to help the new coach find his feet at Chloorkop, Cardoso and his three assistants - Fabio Fernandes, Pedro Azevedo and João Araújo - need to hit the ground running.

Not only has the club's chairman nailed his lofty expectations to the mast, but The Brazilians have their next Caf Champions League encounter this weekend against Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca.

Luckily for Cardoso, he faces the Green Eagles at home with the Yellow Nation at his back, and with Raja in poor form in their domestic league where they lie 8th in the Botola Pro 1.