Rui Borges staying, team revamp and Ba: all Varandas said | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas attended the Portugal Football Globes last Monday and, upon arriving at the event, the Sporting president spoke about current matters at the club. Speaking to journalists, the Lions' leader guaranteed Rui Borges’ continuity, the squad overhaul, the Ibrahima Ba case, and also some refereeing incidents.

"Regarding Rui Borges, it is important to say that everyone makes mistakes. The next day, I saw in several media outlets that there had supposedly been a meeting of the SAD board in which Rui Borges’ future was being decided. It happens. You can be misled. There was no meeting at all. Rui Borges’ position was never in doubt. You’re talking to me about a statistical fact, the 17th time Sporting have let a lead slip in a year and a half. It’s a fact, there’s no denying it. I can mention other figures. He is the coach with the most home wins in the Champions League, the coach with the most consecutive wins at Alvalade, with one of the lowest defeat percentages in Sporting’s history. He had two seasons, always got 82 points, was national champion once, won a Portuguese Cup. The statistic about the 17 games is relevant, a detail. But if you ask any member whether they would like to have those statistics, the museum would be spectacular."

"As for the criticism, I have to tell you that criticism is part of it. Anyone who wants to be here without criticism is in the wrong place. Criticism is part of the emotion. The fans have that privilege of feeling let down, distressed and frustrated by the results and then changing their minds after one or two weeks. Does criticism affect the basis of the decision? No. I’ll give examples. Trincão spent two years being criticised. Paulinho arrived and wasn’t scoring, he was a flop. Fresneda goes to the Spanish national team and for two years he was the ugly duckling. Amorim was criticised after finishing fourth. Suárez started this season being criticised and whistled at, now they shout his name. Sporting does not make decisions based on criticism, but on an objective and rational analysis. Are we happy? No. As president, I analyse the moment, a rational and objective analysis. In the first two draws, Sporting were football-wise far superior to the opponent. Near the end of the matches, Sporting conceded 2 own goals from 2 shots that were not even on target. In the third draw, we were playing a great game against Arouca. It was 2-0, it could have been 3 or 4. Sporting were far superior until the 55th minute and suddenly a player, with a completely negligent challenge, takes himself out of the game and sees a fair red card. Am I ever going to sack a coach in the 7th matchday after 3 draws in which this happened? No, I’m not going to sack him."

"Sporting are carrying out a squad revolution. I don’t know if it’s the youngest, but it’s one of the youngest in Sporting’s history. The new signings have an average age of 21. They have undeniable quality. The board and the coach are very happy with the squad. Ba was a conscious decision. He was supposed to be ready by September. We lost an influential player in defence. We invested €21m in a defender who will be the new Diomande. Ba was theoretically going to be available in September. He had to make a sacrifice and play earlier. He will be fit, called up and play in the following round. It was a conscious decision. Sporting have Quaresma."

"If there is one thing that has gone very well, it is the signings who came in to replace key pieces. You can see the quality of those who arrived. If, because of those 17 games in which Sporting let a win slip, that makes me sack the coach? No. If the positive statistics make me think he is forever? No. But Sporting play well. In the 3 games I just mentioned, there were own goals and sendings-off, 'self-inflicted wounds' that cannot happen. What defines Rui Borges’ continuity is not the contract, it is whether we believe in the process and in the way the team plays."

"Sporting believe in their coach and that their coach has the conditions to achieve the objectives, which are to fight for titles and qualify for the Champions League. It would be so easy for my coach, in the last two matchdays, to go to the press conference and cling to things outside the club, as other coaches and other figures do, with whom I do not identify. I ask the coach not to do it, and he doesn’t. I take my hat off to him. I do not want my coach behaving the way others do."

"We had the market we wanted, with great anticipation. We had a challenge in which we wanted to replace certain players with unquestionable quality. Is anyone talking about Hjulmand today? We already have great players there. Sporting play well, create many chances, score many goals. I do not want my coach talking about things we do not control. I want the players more focused. We cannot have challenges like Debast’s, players have to avoid scoring own goals."

"If every coach won what Rui Borges won... Our national team coach is one of the best coaches I have worked with. Did he win what Rui Borges won? How many coaches have won what Rui Borges won? You have to be responsible for what you say. He was champion, won the domestic double, was the one who took Sporting furthest in the Champions League. Are we happy about having lost 6 points? We have potential for more, the coach thinks he will do more and we believe in the process. Analyse how those 3 draws happened."

"I would have left 6 or 7 years ago and look at what happened to Sporting. Would he have won what he won? Criticism happens. What would Sporting be if Sporting presidents made decisions according to criticism? Just imagine the people who have already been criticised."

"I praise my coach a lot, I ask him not to talk about refereeing and he doesn’t. We understand that this is the path Portuguese football should follow. Is it easy? No. Is it fair? No."

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