José Manuel Antunes slammed for saying Sporting pillar lacks intellect | OneFootball

The National Association of Football Coaches (ANTF) issued a statement defending Rui Borges, coach of Sporting, after sharp criticism from José Manuel Antunes. The former Benfica official accused the coach of "not having the intellectual level" to be at Alvalade.

"The National Association of Football Coaches hereby expresses its repudiation of the comments recently made on a television channel against Sporting CP coach, Rui Borges, which aim to question his professional competence while simultaneously affronting the fundamental values of dignity and respect in our profession," the statement reads.

ANTF recalls the words of the former Benfica official and refers to the achievements of Rui Borges: "'He is not exactly a tavern figure, but he is someone who does not have the intellectual level to be the coach of a big club'. The phrase, proclaimed on a specialized football criticism program on a national free-to-air channel, follows other similar comments from various authors, and was made about a national champion coach with nearly ten years of career, who has gone through and respected all the specific training levels required for the practice of his profession."

"The commentator in question is perhaps unaware that being a football coach involves working with people, managing emotions, and making decisions… under pressure, which requires a high level of intellectual and emotional capacity. Reducing the role of a coach to a lack of 'intellectual capacity' is disrespectful to an entire professional class, whose rigorous training process demands personal investment, knowledge, ongoing study, and thorough research," it adds.

To conclude, ANTF recalls the high praise from Luciano Spalletti for Rui Borges at the end of Juventus - Sporting and "reaffirms its commitment to defending all coaches, promoting technical excellence, fair play, and recognition of the role they play. The coaching profession deserves to be exercised in an environment of respect, consideration, and safety."

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