Miguel Cardoso highlights commitment in maiden Mamelodi Sundowns win

The Brazilians registered their first victory in the CAF Champions League group stage by beating Raja Casablanca 1-0 at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday, with the only goal of the game coming from striker Iqraam Rayners. 

Cardoso, who joined the club last Tuesday, felt the squad showed commitment to buy into his ideas ahead of the big fixture. 

"Naturally very pleased with the result, and very pleased with the support we received throughout these four days that we are [together], including today from other clubs' structures and our fans," said Cardoso.

"Also very happy mostly by the commitment our players had from the very first moment that allowed us, in four days, to try to come here in the best way possible from a tactical perspective.

"But mostly to build a spirit that allowed us to, in the end, arrive with a victory today – it was a very tough game, as expected in a group that is so full of teams at the level we are facing.

"But, as I said from the very first day, we have big respect for our opponents and big respect for ourselves, which is what you saw in the pitch.

"We tried to do our best in every moment, in a team spirit with true brotherhood that we saw and have in the locker room."

As expected, Cardoso reiterated that it would take a few training sessions for his blueprint to be obvious to the naked eye. 

"I believe we are far from the level we want to achieve – mainly we should be able to control the game much more with the ball, and find the right spaces, but the commitment we have and going through victories will help us arrive at that point quicker," he added.

"That energy can multiply when you win, so it was very important today to multiply that energy and commitment, and I think it's obvious we believe in each other, which is something we have already, so now let's continue to work.

"We'll go through the game, recover and study it, show to everybody – the group is big, we have a lot of players, and all of them are committed, as you saw the players on the bench were celebrating, and the players not on the team list came inside the pitch and joined.

"And I feel happy because of that, the whole club and all the fans, it's really a pleasure to be here."

READ: Miguel Cardoso sums first few days as Mamelodi Sundowns coach