Sporting’s coach, Rui Borges, admitted this Saturday, December 27th, that the “noise” surrounding the two-time national football champions serves as “motivation for the group”, but assured that he does not use it for that purpose inside the locker room.
“I believe that, at some point, it is motivation. As much as we are indifferent, we listen and read some things and it is natural that it serves as motivation for the group. In terms of my speech, I don’t use it much”, summarized the ‘lions’ coach, in Alcochete, during the preview of the meeting with Rio Ave.
Borges had been asked about the words of the club’s president, Frederico Varandas, who stated, after the victory in Guimarães (4-1), that the noise surrounding the referees that, according to rivals, have favored Sporting is “gasoline” for winning the third championship.
He acknowledged, in this sense, that “it is natural that they create this noise around the champions and those who win”, but clarified that his players “have enough gas” and that “you don’t need to have a lot of ‘gas’” to motivate them to achieve the team’s objectives.
“Their greatest ambition, that of the entire group, is to achieve something very important and that will mark the history of Sporting, which is the third championship. The biggest motivation we have is this”, he clarified.
To this end, he admitted that Sporting can strengthen itself during the winter transfer market, which starts on Thursday, but stressed that it will always be from a future perspective and not to fill absences immediately.
“If someone comes in, everything is done in a structured, well-thought-out way, with a view to the future of Sporting and not just because we have injuries or players in the CAN”, he stressed.
This is because, for the reception against Rio Ave, Borges will not be able to count on defender Diomande and winger Geny Catamo, who are competing in the African national team competition, while Nuno Santos, Pedro Gonçalves and Debast are still injured and Daniel Bragança is recovered, but his return to the team “is not for now”.
Furthermore, Maxi Araújo “is in doubt” about facing the Vilacondenses, as “he is a bit ill”.
If he plays, the Uruguayan runs the risk of missing the visit to Gil Vicente, in the following round, as he is at risk of suspension, like Hjulmand, but Borges guarantees that there will be no room for any type of card management.
“Hjulmand will play, there is no management. The most important game is Rio Ave, because it’s the next one, so there is no management. Last year I did that once and it almost came out the other way around, so it served as an example for me”, acknowledged the coach.
Sporting hosts Rio Ave on Sunday, in a match from the 16th round of the I Portuguese Football League, scheduled to start at 8:30 pm, at the José Alvalade Stadium, in Lisbon, and refereed by Carlos Macedo (AF Braga).
The team led by Rui Borges remains in second place in the championship, five points behind FC Porto, which hosts AVS, on Monday, and three more than Benfica, which visits Sporting and Braga, at 18:00, before Sporting and Rio Ave take to the pitch.
The Vilacondenses, coached by the Greek Sotiris Sylaidopoulos, remain in 10th place in the championship, but have only won one of the last six matches, against the last placed team, AVS.
Furthermore, they visit Alvalade without their top scorer, Clayton, who scored 10 goals in 15 games in the I Liga and is serving a one-game suspension, but Rui Borges recalled that, away from home, Rio Ave “only lost in Moreira de Cónegos, drew in Luz”, against Benfica, and “in Famalicão”.
“If Rio Ave is more fragile without Clayton? I give as an example the game at Estádio da Luz, where they drew and Clayton was not in the starting lineup. Neither he nor André Luiz, who are the two players who have been most notable in the club’s results. It speaks volumes of what Rio Ave is”, warned the coach of the two-time national champions.