Rui Borges: No excuses for Sporting’s issue, it’s part of the game | OneFootball

At the press conference previewing the home match against Club Brugge in the fifth round of the Champions League group stage, Rui Borges commented on the current state of Sporting and addressed the wave of injuries once again affecting the green and white squad. Even so, the coach downplayed the absences.

"I’m calm. There are things we can’t control and injuries are part of sports. We have to be prepared, before the season starts we have to take precautions. Of course, internally, we do an individual analysis because some players are more prone to injuries, others less so. What has been causing us more problems now are traumatic injuries, something we can’t control. We haven’t had many injuries. Now we had Pote, which won’t be a long-term injury, but we haven’t had muscular injuries. Zeno, Fotis, Simões are traumatic injuries and that’s something we can’t control. Last year we were champions and I didn’t complain about it, I played with more than half of the B team. It’s part of the game, we have to find solutions and not regret anything".

Regarding the match against Santa Clara in the round of 16 of the Cup, the coach didn’t elaborate: "It’s a draw. A tough game like any other", and then spoke about the opponent’s strengths: "Against Barcelona they showed even more the capacity of what a team and a collective can be. They showed the ability of a team that can stay connected at all moments of the game, that is not only good in possession and organized offensive play, but also in transition. They have quality in both moments. They have a lot of technical quality in their attacking players, I’ve mentioned a few, Stankovic is a fantastic player".

Rui Borges is aware of the difficulties he may face: "They have a very good team in terms of individuals, as well as collectively. Besides offensive transitions, it’s a very dynamic team with variability in their offensive process, which makes it harder for opponents to neutralize their strengths. It’s not a team different from Bayern or Paris Saint-Germain, the difficulty is the same. They’re in the Champions League on merit, they’ve been champions six times in the last 10 years. It’s a team prepared for the Champions League".

The coach also commented on the fact that Sporting have scored and conceded in every European match: "We, as a coaching staff, have to analyze how we concede and score goals. We try to always be the Sporting we are: dominant, balanced, and with the ball. We’ve shown that in the Champions League, even away from home. Then we have to learn how we conceded them. We’re in a competition where we have to make fewer mistakes, we have to be more focused, more balanced, and the team has been growing in that regard. We’re a young team, it’s part of the process. We have to value what the team has been able to do in these four Champions League games".

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