Sundowns’ Cardoso angry with venue change for Chippa clash
· Citizen
Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has expressed his dissatisfaction with the venue change for Masandawana’s Betway Premiership clash with Chippa United on Saturday at the Buffalo City Stadium.
Visit mchezo.life for more information.
Sundowns venue changed by Chippa
Sundowns were supposed to play Chippa at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, but the Chilli Boyz have moved the game, citing problems with the playing surface in Port Elizabeth.
This decision has effectively left Sundowns with a day less to prepare for their Fifa Intercontinental Cup clash with Saudi Arabian giants Al-Ahli at Loftus Stadium on September 19.
“It’s very tricky for me because I’m highly criticised when I speak about things that I think will take the game to another level in South Africa,” Cardoso told reporters after Sundowns’ 3-0 Premiership win over Siwelele on Wednesday.
“But I just want you to understand that we have a trip planned to fly, to play (in Gqeberha). The change of venue clearly disrupts our preparations for the Intercontinental Cup.
“You know why? Because (now) we cannot travel on the same day back and we cannot travel in the morning on the following day.”So after the match we’re going to stay there, watching the faces of each other and enjoying a hot dog, maybe we can walk on the beach,” he quipped.
“By allowing this change of venue, or not putting us at a venue where we can travel, we are not given the right conditions to prepare “You can say ‘Yeah, but you still have six days’.
Cardoso – ‘They are expecting to spend the day with the family’
“But I had planned to give two days off to my players and then had four days of preparation for the Intercontinental.
“My players, they don’t even know that still because I didn’t want them to know, but they are expecting to spend the day with the family and they will stay there until 5:00 to fly back. The players that don’t play will not have a chance to train, they will not be able to top up a training session and that’s the condition.”I don’t understand why, a club in the beginning of the season states ‘This is my pitch, this is my pitch’.
|”You don’t change (plans) according to your interest, because of this or because of that, you don’t put one team on this pitch and take another one to another pitch.”