Gyökeres reunion on the cards, Sporting legend says he hopes he fails | OneFootball

Miguel Garcia has no doubts: Sporting’s comeback against Bodø/Glimt, last Tuesday, March 17, has already gone straight into the Club’s history books. In statements to the Lusa agency, the former Lions player discussed the match and also Viktor Gyökeres’ return to Alvalade.

"It was a game that will stay in everyone’s memory, in my top 3 games. All the experts said Sporting had a 10 or 15% chance of going through after the first leg, and they managed to turn the tie around to 5-3. It was a memorable night," he began by saying.

The former right-back highlighted the team’s attitude from the start of the match, emphasizing that the green and whites came out all guns blazing and could have settled things even earlier: "In the first 15 minutes, we could already have been winning 3-0".

Miguel Garcia, who is linked to one of the most epic moments in recent Lions history – the goal against AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals of the 2004/05 UEFA Europa League – compared the two moments, although he acknowledged there were differences: "Sporting ended up scoring a goal right at the start of extra time, there wasn’t even time for me to remember Alkmaar. The difference between the two teams in Tuesday’s match was huge".

The former player also looked ahead to the quarter-final clash against Arsenal, issuing a clear warning: "Home advantage is very important, at home they have to beat Arsenal. Arsenal is a contender to win the competition, just like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, or PSG, but Sporting at home is very strong and now anything can happen".

The tie will also have a special ingredient: the reunion with Viktor Gyökeres, the former Lions striker who now plays for Arsenal: "Sporting has to be very grateful to Gyökeres and vice versa. He was a very important player in the titles won. I’m sure these will be two very special games for him, I just hope he’s not too successful", he concluded.

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