Bruno Mascarenhas says Sporting starter is completely shattered | OneFootball

Bruno Mascarenhas believes Sporting’s season should be seen as overall positive, even if they do not win a third straight league title, placing particular value on their European campaign and the possibility of winning the Portuguese Cup.

“In keeping with what I said before, this Sporting season has been very positive. We came very close to reaching the Champions League semi-finals, we went toe to toe with the leaders of the English league and, as our player Francisco Trincão said, we have an important title to win, the Portuguese Cup,” he began by telling Record, later reinforcing the same idea: “If we win the Portuguese Cup, Sporting’s season will be extremely positive.”

The former Sporting director also points to aspects that need improving for next season, especially the high number of injuries that affected the squad, while expressing confidence that the structure led by Frederico Varandas will look for solutions.

“The structure will certainly be paying close attention and assessing the incidents of this season. And it will look for solutions so that next season the team does not suffer so many setbacks,” he assures. On the sporting side, Mascarenhas identifies clear shortcomings in attack, largely due to Fotis Ioannidis’ prolonged unavailability and the accumulated fatigue of Luis Suárez, while also making a remark about Rafael Nel.

“It was noticeable, especially up front, that there was a lack of options. Ioannidis is an excellent player, but he spent practically the whole season injured. Rafael Nel has done his part, but for a team that wants to win the league, having only Luis Suárez is not enough,” he says, adding: “It’s clear he is completely exhausted.”

Finally, Bruno Mascarenhas looks at midfield and foresees significant changes, with possible departures for Hidemasa Morita and Morten Hjulmand, arguing for the need for reinforcements with very specific qualities: “Sporting will need two real workhorses in midfield.”

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