Three injured, trio doubtful: Rui Borges on Sporting press conference | OneFootball

Rui Borges spoke to journalists in a press conference previewing the match against Bayern Munich - Sporting, Monday, December 8. The match is scheduled for next Tuesday, at 17:45, at the Allianz Arena. Read here everything the Lions’ coach said, who will have three heavyweights missing from the clash.

Is Sporting different now? Is it more in Rui Borges’ image?

"Sporting is different. It’s more in the image of Rui Borges’ technical team. I have an idea and within it, I build things around the individuals. That growth is what we’ve shown in European and domestic competitions. That growth is clear and it’s very different from last year’s Sporting. As for the coach? A lot has changed, also in the technical staff, who are just as important as I am. When things go wrong, they are also to blame. Coaching Sporting means we have to think differently. Our career has been gradual and everything happened very quickly, but learning is daily. In ten years, it will be the same. What we feel is that we’ve grown a lot. The Champions League challenge is also different. Last year we started in the Conference League, where we broke the record for wins by a Portuguese coach. This season we’ve shown growth as a technical team in these big challenges."

Would you settle for a draw with Bayern?

"I always want to win, my past with many youngsters shows the confidence I have. A group isn’t made up of eleven players, but of 25/26. I demonstrate that well. They also believe in the coach’s word. I always want to win, despite the difficulties. I may not succeed, but no one wins all the time."

Percentage chance for Sporting to win in Munich and Mourinho’s criticism

"That chapter is closed, I’m not going to talk about the Benfica game, nor do I need to talk about Morten Hjulmand, a great player in Portuguese football, if not the best. In terms of percentage, we are not favorites, even with the whole team. Bayern haven’t lost at home yet, their last defeat was against Inter in the quarterfinals last season. I’d be hypocritical if I said we were going to split the game. Within our collective, we’ll try to be effective in the moments we have. We have to be focused in both defensive and offensive moments."

Return of Daniel Bragança and minutes for Fotis Ioannidis

"For me as a coach, I want players like Fotis Ioannidis. He’s not ready for many minutes, he’s not in his best shape because he was out. As for Dani, we’re very happy, he traveled with us, of course it will take time for him to gain confidence. He’ll be a January signing."

Does Quenda’s injury mean signing a winger?

"We’ll always find a solution: Maxi, Mangas, Blopa. I’m not going to talk about the market, because we’re a month away, I’m not even going to think about it. As for Quenda, he’s being evaluated, I’m not a doctor, he’ll be out for a few games."

Do the absences lower expectations for the game against Bayern?

"Not for me. We drew with Dortmund last season with seven players from the B team. We suffered, but we came out with a draw, even though it wasn’t the group stage anymore. We’ll play with eleven, I’m not worried at all. I wanted everyone available. Quenda was at his best in terms of numbers. Trincão and Pedro Gonçalves are having their best individual seasons, which just shows how important they are to the group, but we can’t do anything, it’s part of football. Most of it is traumatic, we can’t control it. They’re human beings and we have to minimize the problems. We’ll try to be competitive with the players we have. Simões didn’t start so well and every time he was called up, he played great games."

What happened with Pedro Gonçalves, Trincão, and Quenda?

"Whoever isn’t here, isn’t fit. Trincão is unfit, Pedro Gonçalves felt discomfort and is unfit for this game and possibly the next. Quenda will be out for a few games. Inácio, Geny, due to injuries suffered against Benfica, and Vagiannidis are doubtful."

What kind of challenge is Bayern? Importance of the absences?

"Huge difficulty, we’re going to play against the best team currently in Europe. Personally, it must be one of the best teams in the last ten years in terms of play. Besides the individual quality, they have a collective side that’s out of the box. I like it, I grew up like this. The game is a lot about the mobility that comes from individual quality. We’re playing against a great team. Great players, great coach. We’ll do our best to try to win, despite the difficulties. We’ll try to dignify Sporting, in pursuit of victory.

"As for the absences, it will be with other players. We’ll start with eleven players, just like the opponent, who will put us in a low block, we have to be aware of that, it’s not just us. Even Arsenal, the only team to beat Bayern, spent half the game in a medium-low block and scored two goals on the break. That says a lot about the quality we’ll face tomorrow. But that’s how it is. We can’t run from who we are and we have to challenge ourselves to be better. These games make us better as a team."

João Simões also spoke in the preview:

Do you play more in the Champions League than in the Primeira Liga? Generation 2007 in the first team?

"Regarding the second part, it’s good to see that the teammates I grew up with are reaching the level I’m at, which we all aspire to at the Academy. As for the first question, wherever I play, I go in to try to help the team. I try to improve as much as possible in training and learn from the older players, who are great players."

Are you afraid of a lopsided result in Munich?

"Whenever Sporting steps on the field, it’s to win. We’re not afraid. We know the difficulties, the team that Bayern is, but we’ll go in and look them in the eye."

You didn’t play much at the start of the season and balancing studies with football

"I think everyone gets their opportunity in their own time. Sporting is a great club, with excellent players. I’m improving as much as possible to be able to help and whenever I get the chance, I’ll give my all. As for the second question, it’s been good and easy, the focus is on football, university is good for better development in training."

Bayern Munich’s weak point

"Every team has its strengths. Tomorrow, we want to give an excellent response and look for the best result, which is victory."

Other academy players appearing in the first team

"These players are the result of the work of the Academy staff and the athletes. Sporting aims to place as many players as possible in the first team and for them to succeed in professional football. These examples are proof of our commitment to youth development."

Absences of Trincão, Quenda, and Pedro Gonçalves

"Whoever is there will give an excellent response. We are Sporting, any player has the ability to step up and play a great game, we’re calm. We know the difficulty we’ll face. It’s very good to play against the best in Europe, it makes me learn and improve, I’ll try to help the team, which will always be the most important thing."

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