Carlos Xavier questions Rui Borges' unusual squad management at Sporting | OneFootball

Carlos Xavier was invited to speak about Sporting’s current situation and did not fail to address with “strangeness” the management of João Simões carried out by Rui Borges, who was left out of the squad after having started against Napoli in the Champions League.

“He is a player for the future. It’s true that after a good game against Napoli, not even being on the bench against Sporting de Braga was strange. But the coach has his strategy. In that game, Morita started and Kochorashvili was the second option. Maybe, it didn’t make sense to have João Simões in the squad,” commented the former midfielder of the green and whites, in statements to Desporto ao Minuto.

Next, Carlos Xavier ended up talking about the competition the young player faces in the team: “The kid has to keep working. He has less experience compared to the competition, but they won’t be able to play every game. There will be rotation and João Simões has to take the opportunity to make his mark. I believe he has the ability to add more than Kochorashvili in offensive terms.”

Furthermore, the former Sporting player also spoke about another management issue at Alvalade: that of Eduardo Quaresma. “Quaresma has also ‘disappeared’ from the team and he’s another player who is reliable on set pieces. However, I’ve noticed he’s taking a long time to establish himself. He rarely lasts 90 minutes without cramps or physical problems and he’s only 23 years old. He needs to work on that aspect, as he’s 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 a good thing we’re on an international break. The team, besides showing fatigue, urgently needs to work on set pieces, which are a real headache. The players involved in the defensive process seem afraid of contact, of challenging the opponent. That negative aspect needs to be reviewed. Diomande’s absence cannot be used as an excuse, although he does provide more security in those situations.”

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