Benched by Rui Borges, but Sporting future already settled | OneFootball

A star who was important in Sporting's last campaign, in 2024/25, is losing more and more ground in Rui Borges' squad.

After losing his spot in Rui Borges' starting eleven, Eduardo Quaresma remains fully focused on the goal of reclaiming his lost place in the green and white squad. The center-back trained at Alvalade was one of the crucial elements for winning the championship twice in a row, but he is not experiencing the easiest moment with the Lions.

This is because, after finishing the last season as a starter - and scoring a special (and very important) goal in the final minutes of the 32nd matchday against Gil Vicente - Eduardo Quaresma has been losing ground in Rui Borges' choices for the green and white team.

The truth is that, so far, he has accumulated zero minutes in official matches in 2025/26. The center-back trained at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy has not been featured, neither from the bench nor as a starter, in any of the five matches played by the Lions so far this season.

Eduardo Quaresma seems to have been relegated by Rui Borges to the position of fourth center-back in the Sporting hierarchy. Diomande and Inácio started as the main choices, with the former being replaced by Debast when he got injured, who then took over the starting position. This situation, however, does not deter Eduardo Quaresma from maintaining the same focus he has shown in the past.

The newspaper Record even reports that Eduardo Quaresma is only thinking about turning things around, especially since it's not the first time he starts poorly and ends well. Rui Borges himself seems to agree with the center-back, having already stated that the 23-year-old "deserves to be a starter" because "he has been working exceptionally well."

Check out Eduardo Quaresma's goal against Gil Vicente last season:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.