The coach looks ahead to Friday's game against CD Santa Clara

Sporting Clube de Portugal host CD Santa Clara this Friday at 8:30pm, kicking off Matchday 28 of the Liga Portugal season.

In a press conference before the game, coach Rui Borges previewed what he anticipates will be a difficult encounter.

Geovany Quenda and Giorgi Kochorashvili returning to training
"Quenda is not yet fit for action. We need to have a little more patience, for a few more days, so he is still not one of our options. That's unfortunate, because he is a player who contributes a lot. He is an important player for our team, despite his young age, just as he was last year. I'm happy to see him back, but not so happy that I can't use him tomorrow, as he would certainly be a great asset.
For me, it's easy to manage his emotional side, because he is very motivated to return and help the team in all the competitions we are involved in. This makes me more anxious than him: he is very important to us and is another player who gives us solutions. He is happy and he is raring to return.
Gio is also back and we still have to find out if he will be available or not, but he has been training well and I'm happy to see him back too."

CD Santa Clara
"CD Santa Clara haven't lost in their last five games, and in that spell they've earned the fifth most points, which clearly demonstrates their improvement under the new coach. They remain a very well-organised team defensively, allowing the opponents few scoring opportunities, are very strong on the counter-attack, with fast and strong players in one-on-one situations, and they have good decision-making. They're a very competitive and intense team in their duels, and one of the teams with the most bookings in the league, which shows the intensity they put into their play. They will create problems for us, and we have to be at our best to win."

Pedro Gonçalves
"If he wasn't fit, he wouldn't have gone away with Portugal, nor would he have stayed until the end of their training camp. He was fine, it was the coach's decision not to use him. Above all, I hope he's motivated, and I believe he is, to continue giving a great response at Sporting CP and greatly help his team -which is what he has been doing throughout the season.
I believe that, with everything he has done and shown at Sporting CP, he is always a player who can make a difference at any moment, whether for the club or for Portugal. I make my decisions at Sporting CP and that's already a huge responsibility. I can't comment on the choices of others. I know he was fit, that he had a cramp and recovered, but he would have been fit to contribute for his country."

Title calculations
"Whoever is ahead of us in the table deserves credit, as it's a sign that they have been more competent than the others so far. However, we are still in the fight. There are many games left and we have to be focused on what we control -which are our games-, do our best and win, starting with tomorrow's game."

The absence of Luis Suárez
"I'm not going to discuss the disciplinary committee's decision, as it is what it is. He took responsibility for what he did and we respect the decision.
There are alternatives. We might play with a false 9, but we have Rafael Nel and that's an option for the game too. We'll see, considering the players returning from international duty, who we can put out. Morten [Hjulmand] arrived ill, Gonçalo Inácio and Rui [Silva] arrived injured, Pote is just out of shape -or so I hope... but we'll see what we can do and field a team that, above all, is capable of the intensity of the game."

Preparation without the internationals
"It's the demands of my job. It was one of the biggest difficulties when I arrived here: I'm obsessed with training, as I believe that repetition gives a team a lot of stability at all times during the game. Arriving here and not being able to train with everyone, especially in the middle of the season when we're fighting for all competitions, left me very stressed in that moment. It was also part of my growth as a coach, to become better and more capable of responding at Sporting CP.
For tomorrow's game, when there's no time to prepare fully, the solution is rest, to relax and get them as prepared as possible for the game. They know our game plan and what they have to do in each game. We are very focused on who we are as a team; not ignoring the opponents, but with images and the little we can do on the pitch, we look at the strategy and get them as prepared as we can."

Controversy in previous games against GD Santa Clara
"Controversy will always exist in football. We all make mistakes, so many times. Part of it is up to me, journalists, players and everyone involved in football to assess. The best way is this: Valuing the participants. That's what I try to do: Make my team better and more capable, so that people identify with the team, so that they become better and players."

The coach speaks on the eve of the trip to CD Santa Clara

Sporting Clube de Portugal play this Saturday, at 6pm in the Azores, against CD Santa Clara.

In the pre-match press conference for the Liga Portugal Matchday 29 game, coach Rui Borges highlighted Sporting CP's desire to win the title for a second consecutive season and confirmed that Pedro Gonçalves could play.

Condolences for the passing of Aurelio Pereira
“First of all, I would like to express my condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Aurélio, who was a very important person not only at Sporting CP, but in Portuguese football. He paved the way in terms of scouting, for finding and developing several great players.”

CD Santa Clara
“It will be a difficult game, on a difficult pitch, against a team who are having a great season, who are very competitive, very well organised, and one of the teams that allow the fewest shots to the opposition. They are very strong and very aggressive in transition, and the team that commits the most fouls in the division. This shows how competitive CD Santa Clara are in this sense. They have very strong players, especially in the final third, where they can create imbalances at any moment. Therefore, we have to be prepared, and be aware that we have to be very competitive to face this team. Then, of course, we have to continue to be how we have been: A Sporting CP with calmness, ability, individual quality and, at times, collective quality, to be better than CD Santa Clara.”

Conrad Harder
“For me, it’s a non-issue. I could have used other words to say what I wanted to say about him, but it was never in a critical tone. It was in the course of the questions in which I was just justifying, at that moment, why he came on as a winger, which is not his position. At that moment we needed players who could keep the ball, calm the game down more, and he is a player who is more of a transitional player, with intensity and speed. My words were never in a critical tone, even though I could have used other words. His reaction was good, normal, and he's been training happily. I had a conversation with him, but he knows his coach well, he knows what the coach thinks and wants from him, and I have affection for him and for everyone else.

Losing the top spot
“I'm a highly motivated coach and very confident about the final stretch of the season. In three and a half months, this was the first time we had lost the lead, so I would never think otherwise. I'm very optimistic and confident about the future and the team as well. We are in the fight for the title and it is down to us alone.”

The second half against SC Braga
“SC Braga had one shot on target in the second half, which was for their goal, and in the first half they had another. Possession is very subjective. I think we are the team with the second most possession in the league, and in the Rui Borges era the average is around 53/54%. We are the team that have the most shots on target, allow the fewest shots from the opposition, are the most efficient in passing, and are the second or third team in terms of the most defensive actions in the attacking midfield. I think that reflects the breakdowns in the second half.”

Players that give him comfort
“All of the Sporting CP players give me comfort. As I said, they have been fantastic in terms of their behaviour and commitment, and they were the same against SC Braga. We were much better in the first half, putting a lot of pressure on them, but it’s normal that we didn’t have 90 minutes with that intensity, especially since we were coming off a Taça de Portugal semifinal where several players played the full 90 minutes. Regarding our finishing, we need to get more shots on target and score more goals. We’ve had a lot of shots and we did in the last game too, but that’s part of it. I tell the players to make a lot of mistakes; they do that, and I take the blame for all of my players’ mistakes, whether they are defensively or offensively.

Pedro Goncalves and Hidemasa Morita
“Pote has been called up for the squad, but we will see to what extent he can contribute to the team and for how long. He has been out for a long time and will have to be managed well by everyone. (...) Morita has not been included.”

Retaining the title
“My goal is to be national champions. (...) After everything we have been through, as I have said, the players have responded fantastically. There is nothing to criticise them for. They are well aware of the goal and are committed to the objective, which is to be two-time champions. (...) We have been under pressure since the first matchday. We have lost first place, but it is still down to ourselves and we will be completely focused until the end.”

A 0-1 loss to CD Santa Clara comes despite dominance in play

Sporting Clube de Portugal suffered their first league defeat of the season on Matchday 12, losing 0-1 at home to CD Santa Clara.

The first and fourth placed teams faced each other, with Sporting CP fielding Vladan Kovačević, Zeno Debast, Ousmane Diomande, Matheus Reis, Geovany Quenda, Daniel Bragança, Morten Hjulmand, Geny Catamo, Francisco Trincão, Viktor Gyökeres and Marcus Edwards in their first XI.

High pressure was present from the beginning, with the game being played in the midfield and in the CD Santa Clara area during the opening minutes. The first shot on goal came from  Gyökeres, receiving from Trincão, but on the half-turn he shot wide of the goal. Minutes later, in another attacking move by Sporting CP, Catamo was pulled back in the area, but the referee firmly waved off the penalty appeal.

Then followed minutes of less attractive football, with several fouls and stoppages, but, once the rhythm had recovered, Sporting CP once again attacked. Reis' shot from inside the penalty area, after a pass from Edwards, went wide, then Trincão missed a header from the Englishman's delivery.

Trincão looked at goal again with a shot from the edge of the area, but the ball was intercepted, whilst from the resulting corner the opposition managed a clearance.

Hjulmand shot wide as the opportunities continued, but Sporting CP were made to pay for their profligacy. Faced with some passivity from the home team, CD Santa Clara opened the scoring with a shot from the edge of the area.

Bragança managed to give Gabriel Batista trouble and Quenda shot over the crossbar before the end of the half, but the game went into the interval with the score at 0-1.

Conrad Harder and Maxi Araújo started to warm up right after the break and entered at the beginning of the second half, with Edwards and Quenda going off. Catamo moved to the right wing and the Uruguayan international went to the left.

Os Leões were having difficulty finding spaces and causing danger, but Catamo and Gyökeres still kept Gabriel Batista busy.

Pereira also tested Kovačević with another CD Santa Clara shot from distance, but the goalkeeper was attentive and held onto the ball.

On the hour, two more changes were made by Sporting CP, with the departures of Debast and Reis, as Gonçalo Inácio and Jeremiah St. Juste were introduced.

In the 70th minute, the equaliser was in sight, but Gyökeres' header went wide. Minutes later, a corner for Sporting CP ended with Diomande heading over.

Less than 15 minutes from time, Hidemasa Morita replaced Hjulmand and the chances continued for the team, with Batista making a save and a penalty given for a foul on Araújo being reversed by VAR.

With less than ten minutes to play, time was running out for Sporting CP, and CD Santa Clara continued to stop the game frequently. They tried to make it 0-2 with another shot from distance, but Kovačević kept the effort out.

St. Juste was off target with another header following a free kick, and the goal would not come for Sporting CP. They lost the game 0-1.

Os Leões, who will face CD Santa Clara again on December 18th in the Round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup, will play again next Thursday, in Moreira de Cónegos, against Moreirense.

Preparations continue for the next league game

Liga NOS action continues this week for Sporting Clube de Portugal, who kick off the matchday with their Friday night fixture at the Estádio José Alvalade (8:45pm local time).

The team have been training this week following their 0-0 draw with FC Porto, and coach Rúben Amorim has had almost the entire squad available to him -with the exception of striker Paulinho, who is still undergoing treatment.

The Sporting CP coach will give a pre-match press conference on Thursday evening to preview the game.