João Nuno previews Estrela da Amadora v Sporting, wary of Rui Borges | OneFootball

In the preview of the clash with Sporting, João Nuno stressed that Estrela da Amadora will have to produce their best performance to fight for the result. The Tricolours’ coach highlighted the need for aggression and organization against an opponent with great quality, acknowledging that the match will require maximum concentration from his team.

“We need our best version, a great Estrela, very similar to what we did against Casa Pia (4-0) in our last home game. We want to be aggressive in the duels. So as not to do what I did in the first half of the season, when I said we would go toe-to-toe with Sporting—and then coach Rui Borges gets upset with me—I’ll say that, in some moments, the coach and his team will force us to play deeper. We worked on pressing in the right areas. Let’s see if we can do it. We prepared well for the match,” he said, also calling on the fans to be there and create “a great atmosphere for football.”

Asked about the proximity of Sporting’s European tie against Arsenal, João Nuno felt that it would not make things any easier. “I don’t think it has any influence. Sporting have several options for several positions. These are players used to these situations, and there is no kind of advantage in that sense. To get what we want from the game, we have to be highly motivated in every play, organized and, when we get our chance, we also have to be brave enough to play. I believe [Estádio] José Gomes will be with us. We will try to stick to our principles as we continue working with this team, which had 10 arrivals and 12 departures in January. If we change everything against Sporting, we will lose our idea and our process.”

The coach also spoke about possible changes to Sporting’s starting eleven and praised the squad’s depth. “I don’t have drones in Alcochete, and I don’t know what’s going on in coach Rui’s head. But I do know he has the quality to make changes to the team without it showing. He has many good players at his disposal. Against Santa Clara, even with changes, the dynamics were very similar. The players’ characteristics change, because it’s not the same thing to play Mangas or Maxi, but the dynamics are the same,” he explained.

João Nuno also recalled the first-round defeat and highlighted the importance of set pieces. “In that game, we didn’t even have time to understand whether the strategy was right or not because we conceded two set-piece goals in the opening minutes. If tomorrow we are not strong in defensive and attacking set pieces, we will have many difficulties. After going behind, it became much harder to understand our strategy because Sporting were comfortable in the game. We didn’t want to defend that deep; Sporting pushed us back, just as Arsenal forced them to drop deeper on Tuesday. I tried to press higher at certain moments.”

Lastly, the Estrela da Amadora coach detailed the tactical plan for the match and showed enthusiasm for the challenge. “We know we can’t press all the time, at any moment and in areas where we’re not going to achieve anything, except open up the gap that Sporting want. We have to be smart. With the same starting eleven, we can be in a 4x3x3 and switch to a back five. At some moments we’ll defend with four and at others with five, depending on what we’re doing at that moment in the game. Let’s see if our players can put into practice what we worked on. I love these challenges. For me, it was always games like these that help me grow as a coach,” he concluded.

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