Injuries, transfers and Champions: Varandas on Rui Borges at Sporting | OneFootball

Rui Borges will remain as Sporting’s head coach until June 2028, after renewing his contract this Friday. The link between the coach from Trás-os-Montes and the Alvalade club has therefore been extended by one more season. Frederico Varandas explained the decision.

"We are here today celebrating the renewal of Rui Borges’ contract, extending it by one more year. At this moment, Rui Borges and his coaching staff have been at Sporting for around 16 months. There are those who place great value on the results of the last 15 days, the work of the first few months, winning the league title, winning the domestic double, the best European campaign in our history, the record for consecutive wins at Alvalade, and the fact that we were unable to win more titles. So I understand that, in 16 months, some people value certain aspects more than others. We value the work process more. And since this is a contract renewal, we see it as an act for the future. Regardless of the titles won and lost, the process is the most decisive criterion for us to continue believing Sporting has a future in deciding titles. There is also a human side that we value greatly: Rui Borges is a serious, honest man who protects his own, something I value a lot, and he speaks his own mind and never because a president tells him what he has to say. Rui Borges is and will continue to be our coach".

"We do not make decisions based on the tide, we do not navigate by sight based on what people are saying or feeling. Sporting moves forward based on belief in work processes. I have already renewed with a great coach who finished in 4th place. It is not the sporting moment, it is not 15 days of decisions that become the main factor in a decision. I remember very well in September 2025, the first time I spoke with journalists, a question came up about whether I was going to renew with Rui Borges and I said nothing. It became a story. The truth is that in 5 or 6 events/moments when I spoke with journalists, the question was always there. I never said anything and I always noticed there was chatter. The answer regarding timing, from a management point of view, is simple. The coach had one more year of work left, does renewal help create stability? It does. From a negotiating point of view, as you can imagine, it is much more difficult if it is done in the final year. There are several obvious reasons. I also know that if we had not made the renewal, the same people asking about the timing would be the ones asking in 2026 whether he was going to renew. A club president has to understand what a fan is. And I understand it very well. I understand very well the memory, the importance of the present in a fan’s life. But I also want to say that I will never decide as a fan. Critics? They are fans. Objectives? To continue being what we have been. These gentlemen have raised the bar. It is the most successful group of the last 70 years. Those fans would have to be over 80 years old to remember something better".

"We have nothing to do with that. The club is different, the directors are different. I myself have nothing to do with it either. Expectation? That the coach continues to deliver the sporting performance he has been delivering, fighting for titles, being in the title-deciding moments. We have won more than we have lost, what we want is to be in the decisive moments. This year we were in those decisive moments. Risk? Since I took on this role I have not been afraid of losing. I am very calm about the decisions made".

Market, schedule and Champions League

"As for the market, it is a classic. Sporting start championships badly because they have a bad transfer market. This year the January market was to blame. (...) Am I going to condemn my coach for believing it was possible to reach the semi-finals? (...) A muscle cell takes 5 days to recover 100%. (...) The Champions League has nothing to do with the Europa League. (...) Porto rotated 8 players. They were eliminated by Sporting with a Sporting side at 50% of its capabilities. (...) If there had not been the comeback, the championship would have been ours".

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