Heartbreak at Sporting, lunches with Varandas: Rui Borges reveals all | OneFootball

Rui Borges, the green and white coach, spoke with journalists at a press conference previewing the Sporting - Alverca match this Thursday, October 30th. The match is scheduled for the next Friday at 8:15 PM at Estádio José Alvalade. Read here everything the lions' coach said.

Analysis of Alverca

"It's a different game, with changes on both sides. Within their individual characteristics, the players have different dynamics, different history. It's a championship game, the motivation should also be different. We will be true to ourselves, and I believe we will enter with the same energy we had on Tuesday."

Changes in the lineup

"The base eleven... They have all been starters before, I don't know what the base eleven is. We didn't have 48 hours of rest, but tomorrow our idea is to understand which players will be ready to start. The guys who have come in during the games have given a fantastic response, so I'm calm with the choices. Of course, there will be many changes, I'm not a hypocrite, it's impossible not to have one or two more fatigued players, but I'm confident."

Suárez or Ioannidis

"Suárez has been chosen more often, Fotis also arrived later... He has grown immensely, the group recognizes his quality. Luis has responded well, Fotis too, he is very connected to Sporting and that's important. He is motivated, super happy, he knows he will have his opportunities. And Luis knows he has someone on his heels. Both have responded well. They are different players, Fotis gives more depth, Luis offers us a support game, and he has also improved in depth. But they are two great players who fortunately are on our side."

Debut of Salvador Blopa

"His return was to the B team, it's the biggest grounding he could have. Today he trained with the B team. He has enormous potential, will have a bright future, he is in his growth phase, suddenly he's in the main team. Everything happened very quickly, but I see him very balanced, focused, and I'm calm in that sense. Now he has to continue responding in his category to have more opportunities. He met and exceeded expectations. I think he didn't even expect to play. I asked Simões 'are you scared?' He replied 'no coach'. They have to feel they need to respond to those who want an opportunity, they served as an example. He played a good game, but from my own experience, we have to ground them. Just like I do with my son, pull them a bit to understand that reaching the top requires a lot of work."

January market

"I sat at the table to eat, like a good Transmontano. It doesn't cross my mind. The best answer to that question was Tuesday's game. The youngsters are there to help and respond. Sporting is one of the best clubs in the world in terms of training, only this way will clubs in Portugal continue to grow. I haven't thought about the January market."

Management and 'grudges'

"There will always be grudges, as long as it's not in a negative way. Those who don't feel it aren't good people. But they have to channel that discomfort to prove to the coach that they deserve to play. I'm lucky to have a group that recognizes each other's quality. Sometimes it's not just the ego, the status also exists. I haven't had that struggle, but they respect each other, and that helps me control the grudges. Maybe that's what happened on Tuesday. There are players who have games, not just minutes. That's important for them to respond. No matter how hard it is to understand the rotation of one or another player out, they understand. No one expects to be a permanent starter. I hope whoever plays tomorrow is connected because the guys who played on Tuesday played well. They are all connected, see quality in each other, and know they can play at any moment. Simões played an amazing game in Naples, but then doesn't play right after... But as a coach, I'm very connected, there may be grudges, but the team responds, and that's important to me. They all feel useful, everyone has the opportunity to play, whether it's the 18-year-old or the 25-year-old. They all know they can be starters, they are all connected. They know they have to work hard, everyone is full of good energy."

Rayan Lucas

"The response has been fantastic, he trains with us every day and goes down to play with the B team. He is a Brazilian U-20 international, we're talking about a country with thousands of players. He has very good conditions to be a great player, still has some Brazilian football habits, but he has the capacity to improve. He could have a very good future, he has grown with us in training. He's a good kid, I call him 'crafty Brazilian', he likes to listen, accepts, respects his teammates a lot, and that's good. He knows that little by little he will improve, he has enormous potential to be a great player."

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