Irony, digs at Farioli and chicken soup: Rui Borges on Sporting v Porto | OneFootball

After the victory against Porto, 1-0, Rui Borges, coach of Sporting, shared his thoughts on the triumph of the Alvalade Club in a press conference. The coach responded to Francesco Farioli's words with a lot of irony. Check out everything he said.

Could you have achieved a greater margin?

"I think overall we were better. Regarding comfort... We are winning. We know we will have another 90 intense minutes, a game reflecting what these classics have been. Many duels, competitive, but a first half without game rhythm, many fouls, an attempt by Porto not to let Sporting enter their game. Porto is very competitive in this type of game. But now comes Braga, a team that will demand as much or more than this one. Record of victories? I don't count that. You are the ones who remind me... I want and like to make history and I want to continue doing so because I am happy at Sporting. The rest will be a consequence."

Response to Francesco Farioli and Suárez's gesture

"I didn't see that incident but if he made that gesture, he was possibly doing it to a Porto player for stealing balls. Now, Luis Suárez's character speaks for itself and for the mark he has left in Portuguese football. It's not even a matter to question an athlete's character. Farioli should look at his own..."

"But what is unsportsmanlike about Luis Suárez's attitude? I will value the game, I won't be here talking..."

Incidents and refereeing

"What did I see? On the tablet I have, I see images of the game, the strategy, not what athletes do or if they have this or that gesture. I won't comment on refereeing. I never do. It's the opinion of the opposing coach."

Halftime

"The opponent is very focused on what Sporting is. And they need to focus on what Porto is. I could say that since I've been a coach, I've never seen a first half with 10 minutes of stoppage time. Due to time breaks, due to assistance to every player who fell on the field... Many episodes happen and if we look for them, we will always find incidents here to be discussed."

Does the performance provide guarantees for Braga and Bodo/Glimt?

"It doesn't provide any guarantees. It can give, however, confidence for the path we have taken. It was the fourth game without conceding goals, I lost count of the consecutive games scoring. It's a sign of our ambition and offensive quality. But there are games that demand more from us, are more intense and experienced differently like this one was. Now a difficult game will come in Braga and we must keep the team at its maximum energy because it will demand a lot from us."

Farioli's conference?

"I didn't hear it. I was eating a soup..."

Surprised by Porto?

"The first question doesn't even deserve an answer. The other, Porto tried to deceive and remove our markings, with Pepê coming from outside to inside, Rodrigo Mora trying to take the game lower, and managed here or there to have more time to make a decision further back. They gained time and took away some of our more certain moments, but they didn't enter our block. We always managed to nullify those Porto markings."

Morten Hjulmand and reasons for Pote not starting

"Look... Morten Hjulmand played one of the best games I've seen him play at Sporting. He is a great leader, captain... did anyone ask the FC Porto coach why he took Alberto off at halftime? Besides that... As for Pedro Gonçalves, it's a management that has to be done. It was predefined to have some time to find better physical form and confidence and that's what happened. His physical capacity is not yet within the intensity and demand of what this game would be. But the best Pedro Gonçalves will always be a fundamental player at Sporting."

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