Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso is hoping it will be fourth time lucky in cup finals when they take on Egyptian side Pyramids FC.

The Brazilians face Pyramids in the much-anticipated Champions League final first leg at a sold-out Loftus on Saturday looking to get a favourable result to take to Cairo next weekend.

The first cup final disappointment for Cardoso was in 2011 when his former team Braga lost to Porto 1-0 in the Europe Europa League final in Dublin where he was part of Domingos Paciência’s technical team. 

The second headache was a year later when he was coach of the Shakhtar Donetsk Under-21 team and they were overpowered by Chelsea in the Uefa Youth League final in Switzerland. 

Last year, he was once again on the losing side when Tunisian side Esperance, who dumped out Mamelodi Sundowns in the semifinal, were beaten by Al Ahly in the Champions League final. 

He is in the Champions League final again with Sundowns against Pyramids FC and he will be relying mostly on his experience and that of his players in high stakes continental matches. 

“I understand having played finals gives me some experience,” he said. 

“I played a Europa League final as an underdog with Braga against Porto after we had a fantastic run in the tournament and we lost 1-0 in a match that was balanced. 

“I remember in the Uefa Youth League final against Chelsea with Shakhtar Donetsk U21 team, we played a good game but lost to Chelsea because they were much stronger than us.

“Then it was last year in the Champions League where we made a wonderful road to the final, beating Sundowns in the semifinal, and lost in the final that was played on details.

“The decision two minutes before the end of the match could have turned the game upside down and given us the trophy.” 

Cardoso said those painful memories gives him the courage to keep on going. 

“That experience gives me energy to go a step further. I have lost the league championship before and now I have won two in a row in beautiful countries (Tunisia and South Africa) and clubs (Esperance and Mamelodi Sundowns). 

“Lets hope the work we have been doing together this season will get rewarded by a champions league trophy after the two legs.” 

To get a favourable result in the first leg, Cardoso said they must dig deep. 

“We need to prepare to win and not to lose because if you prepare to lose, you are going to lose. We know the capacity we have and it's up to us to go out there and win the match. 

“First we need to understand how the opponent can hurt us and try to prevent that from happening. The other day I used the expression that the team should play and organise itself while playing. 

“Sometimes teams get disorganised and it is in those moments the opponent can hurt you. We have the mental freedom and capacity to involve everybody in the game. 

“But at the same time, everybody must be organised, know how to behave when we lose the ball and when we have to defend. We need to look how we can hurt the opposition. It is about positioning and managing spaces.”