Sporting’s gamble pays off, Benfica’s big offer turned down | OneFootball

Salvador Blopa has been one of the most talked-about names in recent days, after scoring twice on his debut for Sporting’s first team. Now, Bernardo Bruschy, who coached the 18-year-old during his time in Sporting’s youth academy, revealed that he received an offer from Benfica when he was 10 years old, which he turned down.

"He played at Fontainhas, because he lives in Abuxarda, a neighborhood in Cascais, so close to Fontainhas de Cascais. He started playing there and quickly stood out. Interest from both of Lisbon’s big clubs came right away. At the time, Salvador chose Sporting, but even so, it wasn’t an immediate transition," he began by saying.

However, the former coach of the green and whites’ youth team also explained why Blopa took some time to arrive at Alvalade: "Salvador was very attached to his teammates and to the coach he had at Fontainhas, who is an important person in Blopa’s journey. Because of that, he ended up staying for another season, even though he had the opportunity to join Sporting. Only after that, in the following season, did he make the move."

Next, Bruschy addressed the attitude and humility of the 18-year-old, which in his opinion, greatly contributed to this debut: "Salvador achieving the night he did is also very much due to his way of being, the humble manner with which he has always approached everything. I believe he’s a kid who, because of this attitude, will also know how to handle the moments of success that may come his way."

"He’s always had speed. He’s always been a player with a long stride, a player with tremendous ease using both feet, a very objective player in his actions and a very hard-working player, very willing to take on offensive tasks, defensive tasks...," he emphasized.

Before concluding, Bernardo Bruschy made it clear that he doesn’t believe Blopa is ready yet to make the jump to Sporting’s first team, but that it will happen in time: "The right path for Salvador is not to move permanently to the first team process just yet. He’s a player who clearly needs to be developed in a B team context, in the II Liga, to get more game time..."

"He still has the context of the UEFA Youth League, where he has also stood out, so he can occasionally have these opportunities with the first team and start integrating. I think that, with this framework, next year, he will clearly be a player ready to join the first team and make his impact," he concluded.

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