Rui Borges on Bodø/Glimt v Sporting: "Perfect" game, respect, Gyokeres | OneFootball

After the epic comeback and victory against Bodø/Glimt, 5-0, Rui Borges, coach of Sporting, shared his thoughts on the match in a press conference. The Lions' coach showed no mercy to the journalists, praised a "perfect game," and talked about the reunion with Viktor Gyokeres. Check out everything he said.

What are you feeling right now?

"I expected to see more journalists here after this epic victory by Sporting. I believe that if we hadn't advanced, there would be more. It's a victory I believed in a lot. I said it at the end of the game in Bodo, despite a less successful game on our part. I said we were still in the tie. It was difficult, but we were going to try to do something extraordinary. And that's what the players did: they believed, understood at the end of the game what we couldn't do individually, collectively, we talked, observed, understood what we could do better, what could make it a historic night... And that's what happened. It's something that adds more to Sporting's history."

A game for the history books

"That's what makes me happy: continuing to positively mark Sporting's history. The players also deserve it; more than anyone, they deserve this victory. They deserve to be praised for doing something extraordinary, something different, something that will mark the history not only ours but also European football. Not many teams have achieved this, and we are in that picture. Keep saying that the coach is weak for Sporting, that the coach doesn't have the capacity for Sporting. But they forget that the coach is a national champion and deserves more respect. We weren't the worst in the world when we lost in Bodo. And even if we hadn't advanced today, it wouldn't be just one game that would define what Sporting's team is. They deserve much more respect."

Are you upset about everything that's been happening around you?

"I'm anything but upset, I'm very positive, fortunately, since birth. And this game today is demonstrative of that. And because I'm so positive, I thought we had to get through that 3-0, and if we're here playing this game, if we're lucky enough to play it even after losing 3-0, it's because I knew that if there was a team capable of making the comeback, it was ours. Those who doubt will continue to doubt. But keep doubting. The more they doubt, the more I win, and the more my path speaks for me and my work. I'm not about status, I'm about work, and I'll continue to be that way."

How far can this Sporting team go in this competition? Ready to meet Gyokeres again?

"As for how far we can go: it's about continuing to dream and believe in what we can be capable of, regardless of the opponent. We're back among the top eight in Europe, and that's what makes me happiest, regardless of the opponent we face and what will happen next. Regarding Viktor [Gyokeres], it will always be a pleasure to meet Viktor because he did a lot, gave us a lot, and above all, he is someone we cherish and like very much."

Did you light candles?

"None. I don't ask to win, I ask for health to be able to do what I love most, that's all. I handle it very well, fortunately, whether I win or lose. I'm always the same person. My parents and sisters must have lit some, it's part of it. I wanted to dedicate this victory to my family, my parents, my sisters, my wife, my son, and my greatest star, my grandfather."

Rafael Nel

"About Nel, I was happy for him, for scoring another goal, because the team deserved it, because the kid deserved it. He had 10 stupendous minutes. It was fantastic. The team needed that, and he gave us that strength, that pressing ability he has, which he already demonstrates in the B team. He has worked immensely to have this opportunity. It was the culmination of a dream for a kid."

The performance you're most proud of since arriving at Sporting?

"It's a great performance, but nothing more than that. I'm very practical, very cold in that sense. It's a great game by the whole team. We managed to maintain a very high intensity, and that was required, we had to have it. We were aware of that. I said a phrase we used today at the beginning: 'We knew the best Bodo, but Bodo didn't know the best Sporting.' And so we had to be the best Sporting. We knew what they were capable of, but they didn't know what we were capable of. The team wanted to give that demonstration. So it's a great victory, historic, that will mark everyone's history. But it's just a victory that puts us among the top eight in Europe, which dignifies us a lot. Now, we have to rest and think about Alverca."

Will the renewal be more expensive?

"I don't waste time thinking about that, very honestly. I said it on the first day I arrived at Sporting: it's not money that drives me, it's the passion for the game, it's the dream of being a good coach and a good person. It will never be money that drives me."

Perfect game by Sporting?

"Clearly yes, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to advance. I said it had to be an almost perfect, extraordinary game, and that's what happened. We could have scored a goal early on, we deserved it for everything we created, for everything we were capable of doing. But the team never lost the reasoning of what we had to do, and they did it perfectly. We didn't despair over the goals. At halftime, I asked for that: don't worry, don't think about the comeback, think about scoring another goal, making it 2-0, and then we'll see what we're capable of. It's not worth looking at the time. In two, three minutes, sometimes two goals are scored, sometimes only at 90+6'. Football is beautiful because of that, something that's not destined to happen or isn't an exact science. We couldn't lose that reasoning and had to keep a warm heart and a cool head. A word to the fans. There are no words to describe Alvalade today. From the first second, the emotion we felt in our bodies just by hearing them, just by feeling them... you could feel it was going to be different. They were extraordinary. Let them always be like this, and we need them always like this."

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