On the Ball
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IT has been a long and frustrating wait for Kaizer Chiefs centre-back Daniel Cardoso as he recovers from injury. But he is finally fit and ready to help bolster what has been, of late, a shaky Chiefs defence. Since the departure of Tefu Mashamaite, Amakhosi’s normally solid back-line has been prone to inconsistency, a problem that has been exacerbated by chopping and changing the goalkeeping department. The centre-back pairing of Erick Mathoho and Siyanda Xulu was not effective, and in the Telkom Knockout Final the defensive trio of Siboniso Gaxa, Morgan Gould and Lorenzo Gordinho conceded three goals as Mamelodi Sundowns won 3-1. Coach Steve Komphela will now, however, be able to call on Cardoso, who since signing from Free State Stars, has spent six months on the sidelines because of a shin-bone stress fracture. “It’s been a challenging period for me, but I have my teammates motivating me and my family also playing a huge role,” Cardoso says. “I also know how to motivate myself because this is not the first time I’ve had this injury. I’ve been playing friendly matches and I don’t think it will take me too long to get match-fit. I need a bit more time on the practice field to reach that fitness … hopefully I will play more friendly games.” The injury came at the wrong time for the 27-year-old. After an impressive season with Ea Lla Koto, Cardoso made his Bafana Bafana debut in March 2015 in a friendly international against Swaziland. Then Amakhosi forked out a reported R4million for the defender, who was reunited with his former Stars coach. “I’m back now and I’m taking it stride by stride. I want to play the best football of my life, and I’m also fortunate to have coach Steve Komphela who knows me very well. He is a very good coach and knows what I can do,” Cardoso says. “I haven’t been part of the team as much as I would have liked, and there are players who have been playing longer than I have so the coach will look at them first. But I have the same relationship with him that I had when I was at Stars, and I hope it will get better as time goes on.” Cardoso was watching on the sidelines when Chiefs were crushed by Sundowns in the Final, and although the defence has been criticised, they have only conceded more than one goal in the League once – a 3-1 loss to rivals Orlando Pirates. “Yes, it’s frustrating, but the defence can’t do it alone; we have to win matches collectively. And I think once we start gelling and getting the right combinations, things will get better. In terms of scoring, we are also not taking our chances like we saw during the Telkom Knockout Final. If we take those opportunities then we can achieve our goals and start winning trophies,” Cardoso says. “I hope to achieve a lot at this club. I want to get recognised as I was when at Stars, and most importantly I want to help this great club win trophies again.”