Manuel Moura dos Santos slams Rui Borges: Sporting can't afford to... | OneFootball

Manuel Moura dos Santos - who had already shown his displeasure after the defeat in Naples - was quite irritated with Sporting's performance against Braga. The Sporting fan accused Rui Borges of adopting an extremely defensive approach, considering that the match was played at Estádio José Alvalade.

"With club competitions paused due to national team commitments, this column is limited to Sporting's match last weekend. The game held at Alvalade against Braga left little doubt. My Club was lucky with the result, given the performance. The game statistics do not favor Sporting, who were basically dominated at home by Braga. It has never been so evident what I have been writing in this space; Sporting when fortunate enough to score early, just sits back and watches the opponent play for the rest of the game," he told the newspaper O Jogo.

"I can't understand Rui Borges. Sporting, playing at Alvalade, cannot afford to drop points. This way of approaching the game cannot persist. Waiting to see what the game might bring, risking a surprise, is not a strategy for Sporting. Sporting must always play to win. We were given a footballing lesson, and only didn't lose by sheer luck," he stated.

The well-known Sporting fan also highlighted some deficiencies in the squad: "Diomande is sorely missed at the center of our defense. We have been conceding goals too easily, even with the Ivorian center-back on the field. Morita, given the physical weaknesses he has shown, is no longer an undisputed starter. The Japanese player has had a season below what I have seen from him in previous years."

To conclude, Moura dos Santos spoke about the recent spat and exchange of words between club boards: "This incontinence among the presidents of the three big clubs makes no sense at all. The protagonism of the presidents of Sporting, Benfica, and Porto reflects a cultural underdevelopment only seen in Portugal. Not even in Latin countries like Spain, France, and Italy do you see this constant and unhealthy protagonism from the presidents of the main clubs... It was like this twenty or thirty years ago, and today it's still the same. What is extraordinary is that at the end of the day, only one thing matters: refereeing. Everything else is just nonsense to decorate the focus of presidential attention, which is always on our refereeing."

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