Lions glory as João Simões misses Sporting v Braga, manager unfazed | OneFootball

João Simões was not called up by Rui Borges for the Sporting - Braga (1-1) match.Carlos Xavier spoke about the management by the Alvalade Club's coach and says that the midfielder's absence from the game against Carlos Vicens' team "caused surprise".

"He is a player for the future. It's true that after a good game with Napoli, not even going to the bench with Sporting Braga caused surprise. But the coach has his strategy. In that game, Morita was a starter and Kochorashvili was the second option. Perhaps, it didn't make sense to have João Simões in the call-up", commented the former midfielder of the greens and whites, in statements to Desporto ao Minuto.

Next, Carlos Xavier ended up talking about the competition the young player has on the team: "The kid has to keep working. He has less experience compared to the competition, but they won't be able to handle all the games. There will be rotation and João Simões has to take advantage to leave his mark. I understand that he has the ability to contribute more than Kochorashvili in offensive terms".

Moreover, the former Sporting player also spoke about another management issue that is a topic in Alvalade: that of Eduardo Quaresma. "Quaresma 'disappeared' from the team too and is another player who guarantees on set pieces. However, I've noticed that he is slow to assert himself. Rarely, he lasts the 90 minutes without cramps or physical problems and he's only 23 years old. He needs to work on this aspect, as he is an important player as we saw last season".

To conclude, Carlos Xavier criticized Sporting's approach in the match against Braga, which ended in a draw (1-1): "It's good that we are in the break for the national teams. The team, besides showing fatigue, urgently needs to work on set pieces, which 'is a real problem'. The players involved in the defensive process seem to be afraid of contact, of clashing with the opponent. This negative aspect needs to be reviewed. The absence of Diomande cannot serve as an excuse, although it provides more security in these types of plays".

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