Zeca says Rui Borges might play Sporting star out of position | OneFootball

Zeca Rodrigues was a teammate of Fotis Ioannidis at Panathinaikos and tells Rui Borges that the Greek can play various positions at Sporting.

Zeca Rodrigues - similar to Laszlo Boloni - believes that Fotis Ioannidis "needs some time, but will be successful" at Sporting. The Portuguese-Greek midfielder was a teammate of the Greek at Panathinaikos and highlights the ability of Rui Borges' new forward to play in various positions.

“He is a technical, fast player who likes to associate with his teammates. He seeks the ball both in depth and at his feet. His main characteristics are technique, strength, and speed, and for that reason, he will fit very well into Sporting's system,” he began by saying to the newspaper O Jogo.

The midfielder believes that Ioannidis and Harder "are very different forwards," establishing a comparison between them: "Harder is more of a power-based player, always trying to finish plays, even with shots from outside the box, he is not as associative as Ioannidis, that is the big difference between them.”

“(Ioannidis) Can be used in a position other than center-forward, more shifted to the left on the flank, like a false nine. He can associate, is very intelligent, and has a lot of quality,” admitted Zeca, ensuring that Rui Borges will have several options with the Greek.

The forward's performance was not the best last season, but Zeca understands the dip in form: “Last year he started the season injured in a shoulder, missed the pre-season. Things also weren't going very well for the team and results only improved with the arrival of Rui Vitória. Things didn't go as he wished, he really wanted to be a champion at Panathinaikos, I think there were several factors contributing to a less good season on a personal level.”

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