Sporting seek edge by tapping into new market: English footballers | OneFootball

Sporting CP have a rich history of developing prodigious young talents, none more so than Cristiano Ronaldo, and the club’s philosophy is spreading to their successful women’s team.

Although Sporting have not broken the domestic dominance of Benfica, no more proof of their development success is needed than the case of Olivia Smith, who was plucked from Canada’s academy system and sold to Liverpool a year later for a club record fee. Now Sporting are expanding into a new market: English players.

Their squad contains two players familiar to followers of the Lionesses’ youth teams: the 25-year-old Georgia Eaton-Collins, who joined from the Danish side HB Køge last year, and the Chelsea academy product Ria Bose, who is 19. For two players at different stages of their careers, the move to Lisbon has brought different lessons.

“I’ve played in a few different places now and each one has brought different challenges for me,” says Eaton-Collins, who also spent time in the US college system and had a short spell back in England with Leicester. “Sporting in particular has been a big learning curve for me in terms of the technical side of the game because I’m surrounded by very smart, technical players every day and that’s helped bring out a different side to my game.”

That is echoed by Bose, who had never experienced football outside the English academy system, having joined Brighton as a six-year-old before moving to Chelsea.

“The style of play was the most difficult to adapt to,” she says. “Chelsea and England is near as much the same, as it is across England. There’s a set style of play across the board you become very comfortable with, and here I just had to ask questions to see where I could improve; ultimately it’s why I came here, to add more to my game. It’s been challenging, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Bose also has a chance to grow away from the pitch after leaving home in the south of England for the first time. “It’s been a challenging but rewarding process. Coming in and getting injured like I did isn’t ideal, but the rewarding part is being around the senior Portuguese players because you look up to them and you see every day the effort they put into professionalism and helping the young players.

“That’s what I’ve learned the most. It’s such a special thing here. If I’m injured, they go out of their way to make you feel included and that’s where you see the effort they put into the whole environment.”

Bose and Eaton-Collins had never crossed paths but Bose describes her teammate as a “big sister” and has gone to great lengths to feel at home. “The hardest part was not having a dog, so I got a dog! I’ve never been without one. My mum was surprised, though, when I told her.” On Eaton-Collins, she says: “Having someone to talk to about things and places you know and the experiences you’ve had, I’m really grateful she’s here. When I was injured, she was always someone I could go to.”

Bose admits the move away from familiarity was initially tougher than expected. “I didn’t realise how hard it would be at first. I thought: ‘Oh, I’ve been away with England, it’ll be fine.’ But it’s different – but I’ve also never had a closer connection to teammates than I’ve had here.

“It’s your home away from home and being able to put my trust 100% in my teammates is something I’ve had to work on, but you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable and that’s been so important for me to mature both on and off the pitch. If you’d told me this time last year I’d be living on my own in a different country, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Eaton-Collins jokes: “The main difference is the later eating times, so I’m still adapting to the late dinners.” More seriously, she says of going abroad: “It’s accepting your path is not the same as everyone else’s, and I’ve developed in so many different ways than if I’d just stayed in England.”

It is not hard to understand the lure of Sporting. Aside from the great city and weather, the history of the club is palpable and there is an emphasis on individual development alongside team success.

“When I spoke with Sporting, I realised they were trying to recreate that history in terms of developing players,” says Eaton-Collins. “You see players like Cristiano Ronaldo and how well this academy is known worldwide. I came here a bit later in my career than Ria, but it’s the same concept, bringing in players viewed as high potential and developing them to be able to say Sporting identified talent and is successful in doing that over and over again.”

Bose, set on leaving academy football for a foreign club, concluded Sporting were the ideal match. “I had loads of calls with teams across Europe – I was never set on coming to Portugal – but when I had the first call with Sporting, it wasn’t just a pitch about football, it was a pitch about a new home. That really got to me because it was different to what everyone else was saying.

“I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s a different experience, you’re far away from home, you have to find new ways to connect with people, but it’s become a home away from home.”

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Header image: [Photograph: Sporting CP]