Manchester United legend visits Alvalade

Eric Cantona was a surprise visitor to Estádio José Alvalade this Sunday, accompanied by his brother and children. President Bruno de Carvalho of course didn't miss the opportunity to accompany the Manchester United and France legend.

"5,000 trophies is really impressive!", said Cantona in an interview after visiting the Sporting Museum, before going on to reveal that one of Alvalade's heroes is actually one of his own too: "Yazalde was an excellent player. He played in Marseilles after leaving Sporting. I used to go and watch Marseilles with my dad and brother and Yazalde was one of our heroes."

Cantona also spoke about how Sporting has developed in recent years: "I am a bit like this club: I want my children to have strong personalities. I am letting them develop their own personalities and if they want to play football then they can. I really like to see the big clubs focusing on their young teams. That is where everything starts and where you create your own playing style, like Barcelona, Manchester United and Sporting CP. I understand better now when I see Cristiano Ronaldo, Figo, Futre or Nani playing. They are all the same kind of player."

Tobias Figueiredo, Ricardo Esgaio and Carlos Mané to feature for Portugal in Rio 2016

Rui Jorge announced his squad list for the football competition in the coming Rio 2016 Olympic Games this week. Three Sporting players feature: Ricardo Esgaio, Carlos Mané and Tobias Figueiredo (who is currently with Nacional da Madeira on loan."

Speaking about the squad, Rui Jorge revealed the difficulties faced in putting together a list: "When we picked 35 players, we did so thinking we could put together an ideal squad for the Olympics. With some clubs saying no, we only got 11 of those 35. That has really limited us."

Portugal will play in Group D, along with Argentina, Honduras and Algeria.

Squad list in full:

Goalkeepers: Bruno Varela (V. Setúbal) and Joel Pereira (Manchester United).

Defenders: Edgar Ié (Villarreal), Ricardo Esgaio (Sporting), Tobias Figueiredo (Nacional) and Tiago Ilori (Liverpool).

Midfielders: André Martins (free agent), Bruno Fernandes (Udinese), Fábio Sturgeon (Belenenses), Francisco Ramos (Chaves), Sérgio Oliveira (FC Porto), Tiago Silva (Feirense) and Tomás Podstawski (FC Porto).

Forwards: Carlos Mané (Sporting), Gonçalo Paciência (FC Porto), Nuno Santos (V. Setúbal) and Salvador Agra (Nacional).

Sporting president heads visit to club's second official museum

The Sporting Museum in Leiria hosted a committee from Alvalade this Saturday afternoon. Accompanying the club president for the visit was vice-president Vicente Moura, roller hockey director Gilberto Borges and players Poka, João Pinto and João Diogo, and the the sponsors of the Sporting Race (Corrida Sporting), Hermano Ferreira, Ercília Machado and Rui Silva.

Museum Director Bernardes Dinis did the honours of showing the group around, including a visit to the newly displayed CERS Cup.

The occasion also saw the inauguration of an exhibition on Sporting's win in the athletics European Champions Club Cup.

Alvalade hero helps Real Madrid to 11th European crown

Cristiano Ronaldo has notched up his third Champions League trophy, after scoring Real Madrid's 5th penalty in a shoot out against Atletico Madrid in Milan.

After a draw in regulation time, the deadlock persisted through extra-time. Called up to convert on his side's 5th and what would be decisive penalty, after Juanfran had driven his effort against the post.

Mauricio Hanuch visits Alvalade

Fifteen years have come and gone, but it seems like just yesterday. Mauricio Hanuch made an emotional return to Alvalade this week, to relieve one of the most memorable periods of his career.

"I arrived at Sporting and was champion straight away. I was only 21 when I arrived and I was really young", said the Argentinean in a short interview with Sporting TV.

"It was the best experience of my career. To come to such an important club, with 40,000 people watching me in the stadium, made me really happy", said Hanuch after his visit, going on to speak about Sporting's current stadium: "It is really nice. I played at the last one, which was totally different. Unfortunately I wasn't at the opening of the new stadium."

From the 1999/2000 league winning side, led by Augusto Inácio, Hanuch is full of happy memories: "There were a lot of players with a lot of experience. Acosta, Beto - who was young but very experienced -, André Cruz...It was a mix of young and experienced players. A bit later we had Hugo Viana, Quaresma, Cristiano Ronaldo..."

British magazine on one of Sporting's rising stars

The well-known British football website FourFourTwo has added to João Mário's already soaring fame. Portugal's last two international friendlies further affirmed the Alvalade midfielder's development this season, with a magnificent performance against Belgium seeing him pick out Cristiano Ronaldo for a decisive goal.

Portuguese beat Wales 1-0

The national under-17 squad secured their place in Euro 2016 this week, with a win against Wales on Elite Round Group 5 matchday 2. the Portuguese benefited from Croatia's 2-1 loss to Sweden.

Sporting's Luís Maximiano, Miguel Luís and Thierry Correia all featured on the bench for the encounter.

Feyenoord-Heerenveen used to showcase new technology

Following a decision by the International Board to recommend the introduction of video technology into football, the Royal Dutch Football Federation, in partnership with Fox Sports, broadcast a match between Feyenoord and Heerenveen live from the perspective of a video referee.

The foolproof system works along the same line as the one already in place in rugby. A truck was parked outside of the stadium with monitors that allowed for a slow-motion monitoring of play from different perspectives. Inside the truck where two refereeing specialists, watching the match live on one screen and with a delay on another. Whenever needed, the pair looked at the particular situation and were equipped with a button to alert the referee on the pitch. Although the International Board has already recommended use of the technology, official authorisation is yet to come through. During the coming two pilot seasons, the match referee will be briefed at the end of the match, rather than in real time.

The video referee project has already been in place in the Netherlands since last season, with specialists aiming to tackle any doubts on penalties, off-sides, discipline or goals. The Dutch were quick to affirm their support of the decision to use the technology to assist referees and are looking to use the system in the KNVB Beker (Dutch Cup), while the English Football Association is also considering using the tool in next season's FA Cup. 

President Bruno de Carvalho reacts to IFAB decision on new technologies

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) today announced testing for the use of video technology in football in support of the sport's referees. Speaking about the decision,  president Bruno de Carvalho proved satisfied.

“It is a really important step. Yesterday I said that one of the characteristics of a leader is perseverance and we have to have clearly defined objectives. As everybody knows, I met with FIFA, which is part of the IFAB. We spoke for several hours about the theme of new technologies in football. I had already said several times that I had no doubt that sooner or later new technologies would have to come into football. This is a really good bit of news for everyone who loves football and for me as the president of Sporting, because it is another example that it is worth believing that the sport is going to modernise and is going to change. I have said it several times: the people in charge of football have understood that people are tired. They want a credible sport and that is what I have fought for since I started. This is not only important for me or for Sporting, but for the whole world of football", affirmed Bruno de Carvalho, adding: “About the issue of funds, I have no doubt that the next step to take will be the creation of possibilities for good financial partners to get involved in football. This is an experimental step, but it is a change in mentality and I have no doubt that football will have to fight hard change everything. This is great news for everybody, especially those who have fought for almost three years now. Three years ago we were here talking and people said that funds would never end and new technologies would come into football. After three years, the truth is that after a hard fight people have seen that football is important. It is a sport that moves millions, but there are millions more who want to enjoy it too."

Portugal beat Hungary 2-0 in Euro qualifier