Rui Borges embraces Juventus player with Sporting past: He’s a talented lad | OneFootball

Rui Borges attended the press conference after the draw between Juventus and Sporting (1-1). The coach highlighted the first half performance of Sporting, acknowledged growing pains but, overall, returns home satisfied with the draw in Turin. Additionally, he spoke about the hug given to Francisco Conceição, a player who came through Sporting's youth ranks.

"At that moment, I looked and saw someone from our country and we end up having a different kind of affection. He's a kid, a player recognized for his quality and competitiveness, someone we respect," said the coach, after evaluating the performance of the Alvalade Club.

"I think in the first half we had both things. We had the capacity, inspiration, and quality in terms of positional play in the offensive process. Defensively, we managed to nullify, sometimes with greater difficulty, but we played against a great team. In the second half, we lacked a bit more inspiration to better control the game with the ball, but we had commitment and competitive attitude. The game was difficult, against a very skilled opponent, on a tough field. It had a bit of everything. The team gave a great response and if we want to be among the best, we need to have this capacity, humility, and courage with and without the ball," he stated.

The coach spoke about Juventus' European prowess: "We didn't play against just any team. It's a great team, at home, in front of their fans, where no one has won this season. We had a lot of quality in the first half. We scored the 1-0, Francisco Trincão then hit the crossbar. We didn't have as many shots as we usually do in our league, but the demand is much higher. They had two shots resulting in two saves by Rui Silva in the first half. In the second, they had some superiority and we had some possession, but not very objective."

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