Embattled Cardoso and Berg left Loftus through back door to avoid angry Sundowns supporters

Beleaguered Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso and sporting director Flemming Berg were whisked away from Loftus on Friday night through the back door to avoid angry fans.

Berg tried to leave the stadium through the front door, but angry supporters poured an unidentified liquid on his shirt and told him to leave their club.

He was forced to retreat for safety inside the stadium, and he later left, exiting through the back door with Cardoso under heavy security presence.

Many Sundowns supporters have been on the case of Cardoso and Berg for months, complaining about the team’s style of play, some of the technical and tactical decisions and the recruitment strategy.

Tempers flared inside and outside the stadium when supporters reacted angrily to the team’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Al Hilal of Sudan during their Champions League group stages clash.

After the match, most of the supporters were chanting the name of coach Pitso Mosimane, who has been linked with a possible return to the club over the past few weeks.

It remains to be seen how the events of Friday are going to affect Cardoso and Berg because Sundowns have a quick turnaround of matches next week.

The Brazilians travel to Sekhukhune United in Polokwane on Tuesday in the Betway Premiership and visit Al Hilal in the return match in Rwanda on Friday.

In his post-match press conference, Cardoso said they are going to Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda and getting a win that will see them maintain their top spot in Group C.

“We knew what sort of game to expect against a team that sits back and tries to use counterattacks. The only doubt we had was which one of their strikers was going to play,” said Cardoso.

“We were aware of the left winger who was always ready to launch counterattacks, but we controlled the match, and the story of the game is the number of goals we could have scored.

“And how we were naive in how we conceded both the goals, I didn’t see any real opportunities to score from the opponent. But in this level of the Champions League against a team that is basically the national team of Sudan, you will be penalised if you are not strict.

“We could have had our advantage but didn’t, so this is a result that leaves everything open for what we have ahead of us with three matches to play.”

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