Mamelodi Sundowns Coach Clarifies Role of New Signings After Defeat to Golden Arrows

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has dismissed suggestions that new Portuguese recruits Nuno Santos and Miguel Reisinho were brought in as direct replacements for Lucas Ribeiro Costa. His comments followed the team’s shock 1-0 defeat to Golden Arrows on Wednesday night.

Ribeiro, who departed after a standout season as one of Sundowns’ most influential attacking players, left supporters questioning if the two new arrivals were signed to fill his void. Cardoso, however, insisted that the strategy behind the signings was broader.

“No player will substitute Lucas because that’s not what we are looking for. We are not looking to substitute Lucas. We are looking to reinforce the team completely. Every player has his own characteristics and neither Nuno nor Miguel has the characteristics that Lucas had. Lucas was a very particular player, but so are the others we have. The team will be, and Sundowns will develop to be a different team, probably more collective even than it was in the past,” Cardoso explained.

The coach acknowledged Ribeiro’s individual brilliance, particularly his ability to decide matches on his own, something Sundowns missed in their loss to Arrows.

“Lucas was a player that could solve problems alone. In these kinds of games like today, probably he would help a lot because sometimes you are blocked and he was capable of finding solutions,” Cardoso admitted.

Despite this, he emphasised the need for the club to look forward rather than dwell on the past. “Lucas for us is a wonderful memory, a good friend, but it’s the past. We don’t really relate to the past. We just need to understand how capable we are of welcoming everybody together, getting the best from each player and developing the team in that sense. That’s what we want, and that’s what we are doing,” he added.

The Brazilians will now shift their focus to regrouping and ensuring their new signings settle quickly, as they aim to bounce back from the unexpected setback and continue their push for dominance in the DStv Premiership.