The coach's reaction to the Liga NOS title win

The man who led Sporting CP to their first Liga NOS title in 19 seasons, Rúben Amorim, donned the club shirt for his post-match press conference following the 1-0 win against Boavista FC that confirmed the league was theirs. He was not alone in the press room at the Estádio José Alvalade, however: His coaching staff were alongside him, with Amorim's reasoning being that "When you win, everyone should be here."

The coach began by saying that "The journey is still ongoing," with two games still remaining.

"It has been a good season, but now we have to finish it off. I thank the Sportinguistas for their support. We have to focus and stick together, people have no idea of the club that we are when everyone is united."

Sporting CP did not start the campaign as title favourites, and Amorim acknowledged that it was only late on that they began to see it as a possibility.

"Towards the end of the season we started to have the notion that we could do it, and started doing the maths. However, in the moment that we became more relaxed we began to drop points -and from there everything changed. We felt some doubts about the team, but we turned things around. Congratulations to the players, the coaching staff and the club, because we were able to handle the difficult times."

In addition, he noted the motivational factor that a lack of belief from others provided.

"Every time that people doubted us in public, I showed it to the players, it helped us a lot to motivate the team, so these criticisms were actually part of this success."

"The bond between them and the connection between the young players and the veterans was key to our success. We had a very compact structure, a Sporting Director who knows me well, a close connection with the coaching staff. This is a great club and everything went well."

"They are very happy players; here and there they felt their inexperience, and that even happened in today's game -with the way we played and when the final whistle started to approach, the team's nervousness was very noticeable. That youth also took a lot of pressure off us at more difficult moments, however. It was part of the season, but it was a very important factor in our achievement."

The coach -in his first full season in a dugout- will now get a chance to guide Sporting CP in Europe's top club competition. He intends to stick around for the challenge.

"Next year there is the Champions League. We have a path to follow, but if this year was one of suffering, the next one will be even more -but we will be prepared for that. I will coach Sporting CP. I have a contract, I am very happy here and I will continue here," he promised.

The press room was invaded by several members of the squad, who doused their coach in water and celebrated with him at the end of a memorable night.

A 1-0 triumph earns the team the title

Some 19 years since their last league title, and for the 23rd time in club history, Sporting Clube de Portugal are Liga NOS champions. The team beat Boavista FC 1-0 on Matchday 32 of the Liga NOS season, mathematically guaranteeing the title thanks to a win that came from a first half goal from Paulinho.

With a fantastic atmosphere in the vicinity of the Estádio José Alvalade in the buildup to the game, Sporting CP came out motivated to seal the title. Coach Rúben Amorim made one change to his starting XI, bringing in Pedro Porro.

Boavista FC managed a corner in the opening minutes and played with a high line, but Sporting CP were always in control. They could have scored in the fifth minute, when Nuno Santos struck from distance against the post, and it proved to be the first of many attempts by Os Leoes.

In the 11th minute, another good look on goal came from a Nuno Mendes corner, headed just wide by Paulinho. Shortly afterwards, Porro served a perfect ball for Pedro Gonçalves, who could not get a shot off on that occasion or when just inches away from a Mendes ball.

Unfortunately, Porro’s participation came to an early end in the 17^th minute, when he was taken off in tears due to an injury. Replacing the Spaniard for the remainder of the game was João Pereira.

The onslaught continued, however, and Nuno Santos set up Mendes for a hard strike that again came close. A Gonçalo Inácio header from a corner at the first post was close as well, as Sporting CP were relentless in pursuit of the opener.

It finally came when João Mário released Nuno Santos, who appeared on the left and placed the ball into the heart of the box. There, Paulinho successfully finished off the chance, made it 1-0 and took his team one step closer to the title -to the delight of the fans waiting outside the stadium and the fans and players within it.

Before the break, Sebastián Coates had a header saved by Léo Jardim and Boavista FC had their first and only chance of the opening half when their player Nuno Santos forced a stop by Antonio Adán.

Almost nothing changed in the second half, as Sporting CP remained the dominant force and created several opportunities. The first was just after 47 minutes, when Nuno Mendes crossed for Paulinho to shoot and Léo Jardim again intervened. A defender kept out an effort by Paulinho soon after, from a chance fashioned by Gonçalves.

After Paulinho missed a header off a João Pereira cross, the game settled down, until a series of late attacks following the introduction of Matheus Nunes: First Pedro Gonçalves hit the post, and then Matheus Nunes tried to serve up an assist, but a defender deflected towards his own goal and Léo Jardim kept it out again. To finish off, Paulinho shot over after a setup by Pedro Gonçalves.

In the final ten minutes, Matheus Reis, Daniel Bragança and Jovane Cabral replaced Nuno Mendes, João Mário and Pedro Gonçalves, respectively, and on the final whistle the long wait came to an end: Sporting CP were crowned champions of Liga NOS, rewarding a brilliant season.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal, Pedro Porro (João Pereira, 17 '), João Palhinha, João Mário (Daniel Bragança, 82'), Nuno Mendes (Matheus Reis, 82 '), Pedro Gonçalves (Jovane Cabral, 82'), Nuno Santos (Matheus Nunes, 76 ') and Paulinho.