Cele reunites with Cardoso at Sundowns

A big reason why new Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Thabo Cele could integrate quicker compared to his former club Kaizer Chiefs has been revealed.

Sundowns raised eyebrows with the signing of Cele who made only 36 appearances during his one-and-a-half seasons at Chiefs following his arrival from Russian club Fakel Voronezh.

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An ostracized Cele

The 29-year-midfielder became an outcast for the better part of his stay at The Glamour Boys, particularly after Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze took over from former head coach Nasreddine Nabi as co-coaches.

Things got worse for the KwaMashu native after he also picked up an injury leading up to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) break, which led to him being unavailable for selection for a number of matches after the tournament-enforced recess and was unable to compete for a spot in the regular line-up.

New Chiefs head coach Fernando Da Cruz dropped a bombshell immediately upon his arrival at the Naturena village, stating bluntly that Cele was certainly not in his plans and subsequently the diminutive midfielder had to train on his own.

The two parties eventually parted ways by mutual consent, following a termination of contract.

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The Cele-Cardoso connection

Cele would, however, not feel strange to Sundowns and how they do things, as he was first scouted by The Brazilians' Head of Academy, Paulo Cardoso during his time as the Academy Director at KZN Academy.

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Cardoso played a significant role in 'Induna Yendawo's breaking into the professional ranks after he was signed by Portuguese club Real SC in 2016, before joining Benfica reserves a year later.

Ironically, the former Chiefs midfielder was in the same team with his new teammate Nuno Santos at Benfica B, although he spent half a season on loan to Real SC before a permanent transfer to fellow Portuguese club Cova Piedade.

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