Rui Borges slips up at Sporting press conference, apologises | OneFootball

Rui Borges was present at the press conference, after the draw between Benfica and Sporting (1-1). The coach was questioned about winning few big games and ended up making a slip, although he immediately corrected what he said.

"I'm not going there. I'll talk about the Champions games and you'll say we won because Marseille played with 10, then you'll say we beat Brugge because we were obliged to win, but last year we didn't win. We drew at Juventus... Then you always bring up the narrative that interests you. Since I've been at Benfica, I haven't lost away from home... since I've been at Sporting, I apologize," said the coach, smiling.

The coach continued his reasoning: "I don't understand this narrative you're talking about. Last year we didn't lose. It is what it is. On the other side are competitive opponents. I don't look at it that way. In the Super Cup game, we were better and lost. Against Porto, when we were doing well, we conceded two goals in five minutes, at a time when Porto was already defending. Football is very much about specific moments. We did everything to win, it didn't go well. But that doesn't affect me at all," he explained.

Rui Borges was also confronted with the fact that he chose Pedro Gonçalves over Geovany Quenda: "I don't know how to answer that, it's speculation. Pote came in well, played a good game, and scored a goal. Before his injury, Pote was coming off great games, probably the best player at Sporting. I decided based on the opponent we were going to face. We opted for Pote, but if Quenda had played, he would have responded as well, I don't know what and how. But Pote put the team ahead, added quality to the offensive process. I wouldn't change it."

The coach also addressed the physical condition of Fotis Ioannidis: "Ioannidis gives us good things. We knew he wasn't capable of playing for long - not because of the injury, but because of the time. I listen a lot, I like to talk to the players, I like to understand them, and it was a bit like that. I didn't sleep with him last night, but yesterday I felt he was well. That's why he came to the game and was called up. It's players like these who define a group and a football team. His desire to help the team - not just because it's Benfica -, his character is extraordinary on a daily basis. To me, to the entire structure, to his teammates, his ability to fight the injury was very surprising. We were expecting him to return after 6 weeks, and he came back after 3. Let me highlight this because he deserves it," he concluded.

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