Rodolfo Reis slams Varandas: Porto fear no one, he should worry | OneFootball

The re-election of Frederico Varandas as president of Sporting, with a term extending until 2030, has once again placed the leader at the center of football discussions in Portugal. During the campaign, the Sporting leader highlighted the club's trajectory since 2018, asserting that the lions have ceased to be a "sleeping giant" and have become a reference in the national sports scene.

Varandas emphasized that Sporting has won more titles than its rivals in recent years and highlighted the financial stability achieved during his leadership. Nevertheless, his statements come in a context of high tension with FC Porto, following the classic match played at Alvalade, related to the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals.

In that match, Sporting won 1-0, with a goal by Luís Soares from a penalty kick in the 59th minute. At the end of the game, a true war of words broke out between Varandas and the Porto president, André Villas-Boas, with mutual accusations of "liar" and "coward".

Rodolfo Reis challenges Varandas' speech

The controversy was recalled by Rodolfo Reis, a former FC Porto player and current television commentator. On CMTV's commentary segment, the former Porto defender reacted to Varandas' statements about Sporting's superiority in terms of titles.

Faced with the possibility that the Sporting president was referring to the set of sports, Rodolfo Reis responded with irony. "In reality, what he talks about is titles in roller hockey, marbles, and badminton and I don't know what," he said.

For the former international, the argument may carry weight in the universe of sports, but not when the discussion focuses on football. "Okay, that's very nice. He lied regarding football," criticized the commentator, emphasizing that the competitive reality does not coincide with the narrative presented by Varandas.

"FC Porto is not afraid of anyone"

Rodolfo Reis was particularly bothered by the Sporting president's statements after the classic, in which Varandas suggested that FC Porto feared losing the championship due to "playing poorly."

The former Porto player completely rejected this idea and defended the competitive culture of the blue and white club. "Where does he say he's afraid? Afraid, afraid, afraid? Coward, coward, coward?" he questioned.

In his view, FC Porto's history demonstrates precisely the opposite. "Is FC Porto afraid of anyone? FC Porto is not afraid of anyone. It can lose, yes sir. The other team is better and won. Congratulations to the other team when they win," he stated.

Even so, he left a final criticism to the Sporting leader, now re-elected by the club's members. "But FC Porto was never afraid of anyone. And afraid, afraid, afraid is what he has. Now he has more than four years. He has more than four years to take it on the chin," concluded the commentator.

Meanwhile, the climate of tension between the two clubs continues to mark the current state of football in Portugal, in a rivalry that many believe will only ease when "Benfica becomes a more consistent threat in the title race."

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