Leonino exclusive: Eduardo Barroso brands ex-Sporting man despicable | OneFootball

After Sporting’s thrashing of Alverca, Eduardo Barroso argues that Rui Borges is a very competent man and strongly criticizes several pundits and Jaime Marta Soares. The former president of the General Assembly Board of the Alvalade club reacted to the win over the Ribatejo side, discussed the impact of Porto’s victory against Braga on the title race and the Champions League knockout tie against Arsenal.

“This is normal for Sporting. The team that plays the best football in Portugal, one of the teams that plays the best football in Europe, a phenomenal coach and fantastic boardroom stability. So, we are having a fantastic season. Sporting are playing football that excites the fans and Sporting lovers, like me. We are playing very well, but there are those who have done better than us in the league,” he began by telling our newspaper.

The former pundit then began praising Rui Borges, defending him from the criticism he has been receiving from the press. “Our coach is a humble man, a competent man, but one who is not respected enough. It pains me greatly to live in a country where humble people and people without economic power are treated so badly, that is the only thing that shocks me in the middle of all this. Some pundits are really vulgar, that’s the word, vulgar”, he said.

On the incident involving Luis Suárez and João Pinheiro, Eduardo Barroso believes the best option would have been to show the white card, but he does not crucify the referee. “I felt proud of him (Suárez) and of my Sporting, proud. However, he should have told the referee, ‘it wasn’t a penalty, but I didn’t dive, I just lost my balance’. Fine, but when the referee went to correct the mistake he had made, he felt that, to underscore the error, or to justify it, he still needed to say, ‘you fooled me, you dived’. So, instead of giving him a white card for fair play, he gave him a yellow card. But it’s not serious either. I also criticize João Pinheiro, but I understand. It’s not all that serious, but it would have been nice to give the white card instead of the yellow card”, he said.

Regarding Porto’s win over Braga, the surgeon believes in a third straight league title, although he admits it is difficult to achieve. “Do I believe in a third straight title? Asking me that is like asking me if I’m hungry and want to eat a steak. It is obvious that Porto are getting closer and closer to being able to become champions. Now, Porto ended up losing a game no one expected them to lose (away to Casa Pia). It is clear that I still have hope, but I recognize that it is very difficult for that to happen,” he said.

After the international break, Sporting face Arsenal in the Champions League round of 16, and Eduardo Barroso is confident of reaching the semi-finals: “It will be very difficult, but we will go through. The big surprise in this Champions League is not Bodo/Glimt, it is Sporting. And we will go through, just as we did three years ago, when we eliminated Arsenal in the Europa League (2022/2023). No one demands it of us, no one expects us to reach the semi-finals. In fact, if you look at the teams among the final eight clubs, there are seven sharks and one little shark, right? So, the little shark can eat the sharks. Let’s believe in that”, he argued.

It was on this subject that Eduardo Barroso once again praised Rui Borges’ work and fiercely attacked Jaime Marta Soares, who recently said that the coach from Mirandela was not suited to coach Sporting. “Regardless of whether we may be eliminated in the quarter-finals, fail to win the league, and not reach the cup final, I think Sporting are different and are having a remarkable season, which shows the coach’s quality. . No, he is the one who never had the quality to be president of Sporting’s General Assembly Board. He is a man for whom I have deep contempt”, he concluded.

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