Sporting B miss out on II Liga matchday six

Sporting B's shaky start to the new Ledman LigaPro continued this weekend, this time with a harsh loss to Varzim. The defeat started after just two minutes, when a cross bounced off the bar and out to Rui Bento for an easy finish.

The easily blow was easily brushed off by João de Deus' side, who despite dominating play were unable to make the most of their chances in the final third. Meanwhile Varzim parked the bus and looked happy to soak up the Alvalade pressure.

The second-half almost started with the same stroke of bad look as the first for Sporting B, when a rocket of a shot from Renatinho after 40 seconds was only denied by a fantastic stop from Pedro Silva. It was however only one of a handful of chances for the hosts against a well drilled Sporting B side, but Varzim proved deadly from their few opportunities. On 61 minutes Leonel Olímpio saw a penalty stopped by Pedro Silva, but the young Alvalade keeper was unable to keep out the rebound from Renatinho.

Still João de Deus' side continued to dominate, but Varzim's direct football proved to be almost miraculously damaging and Delmiro made it 3-0 late on with a header.

The loss sees Sporting B slip down to 20th, ahead of next weekend's hosting of Gil Vicente.

Information for fans travelling to Madrid for Champions League matchday 1

Sporting Clube de Portugal has released the following information for fans travelling to Estádio de Santiago Bernabéu for Wednesday's 20h45 encounter with Real Mardid:

• The area designated for parking for visiting fans is on Avenida das Astúrias, in an area supervised by the local police forces.
• Fans arriving to Madrid prior to the match are advised to gather in the Portas do Sol area of the city.
• The meeting point for the match will be at 17h00 on Avenida do Brasil, near to Estádio Santiago Bernabéu.
• The nearest metro station is "Paseo de Castellana".
• Visiting fans will be escorted to the stadium at 19h00.
• Stadium gates will open at 19h15.
• Contact points will be available for the Portuguese police and Sporting.
• All tickets must have the name and identification number of each fan written in the correct space. Fans may be asked to show identification on entering the stadium.
• Should visiting fans have tickets for other sectors of the stadium which are not allocated for visiting fans, these fans will only be admitted entry at the discretion of Real Madrid.
• The individuals who activated pyrotechnical devices at Sporting's match on Saturday have been identified. the use of such devices is highly damaging for the club and can lead to fines and even close of sectors of the stadium. Sporting appeals to all fans to refrain from using such devices.

Bruno de Carvalho unveils new exhibition dedicated to Sporting's European heroes

The European Champions Made in Sporting exhibition officially opens this week in Palácio Foz (Restauradores, Lisbon), where Sporting's headquarters were once located.

The exhibition will open to the public as of Monday the 13th of September and will last for six months. The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday (closed Monday), from 10h30 to 17h30.

Entry is free.

Sporting dominate in a match which saw four debuts

Sporting claimed a convincing 3-0 win against Moreirense this Saturday, to move clear at the top of Liga NOS ahead of a midweek Champions League visit to Madrid. The two matches may not appear immediately related, but Jorge Jesus' changes in the second-half made it clear that the Alvalade boss is looking to take a fresh side to the Spanish capital.

After wreaking havoc against FC Porto two weeks ago, Gelson once again showed just why he is becoming a regular feature, with another eye-catching performance down the wing. Bas Dost will of course be excused for taking time to settle in his first appearance in a green and white shirt, but the Dutchman did toast his debut with a goal of his own after the break.

It was Gelson who opened the scoring, with a darting run into the middle picked out by a pass from William for a well-controlled first touch and cool finish from close range.

Moreirense had actually started their spiral towards defeat five minutes earlier (22'), when Neto saw a yellow card for protesting a decision from the evening's official. Twelve minutes later, Neto went in hard on William and was shown a much deserved second booking and the resulting red card. Sporting did secure a first-half goal, but it was only after the break that Jesus' side really made the most of the numerical advantage.

Boosted by what was an evidently brilliant half-time intervention from Jorge Jesus, it was the Alvalade new recruits' turn to shine. Bas Dost came painfully close just a minute after the restart, but the giant striker would have to wait for his debut goal. First it was Campbell to open his account, when the Costa Rican found a yard of space with some fine movement and nodded in a brilliant floating cross from Alan Ruiz (52'). Five minutes later, Bost got his goal with some persistent work in the box.

Leading by three and playing against ten, Jesus' side oozed confidence and piled forward. Markovic (60'), Elias (67') and André (78') were also given run-outs, in what was a showing of the depth and quality of a new-look Sporting side ahead of what is sure to be an exciting visit to Madrid.

Elias on his second Alvalade debut

Elias made his Alvalade debut this Saturday, albeit for the second time, in Sporting's 3-0 win against Moreirense this Saturday.

Asked how he feels to be back in a green and white shirt, the Brazilian couldn't be happier. "I am really happy to be back. It is a totally different team and we will fight for the title. I thought we played really well today and I felt good. After the sending off it was a lot easier", said Elias, before commenting on the differences between his two spells at Alvalade: "I don't like to compare things. Everything is good in some way. Things are different now though, with the coach, president and us fighting for the title."

Jorge Jesus happy with his side's performance against Moreirense

Jorge Jesus spoke with the press after Saturday's 3-0 win against Moreirense, in what was a game of two halves for his much-changed side.

"We had some good spells. It looked a lot easier after our third goal and we took our foot off the accelerator a bit. Some of the lads are just back from the international break as well. I thought we passed the ball around well. Bas Dost is still getting to know the team and you could see that a bit in the first-half and it was the same with Campbell. We spoke at half-time and we improved after that. We gave some of the new faces to play and they did well", opened Jesus.

Speaking in further depth about his new signings, the Sporting coach added: "Bas Dost loosened up in the second-half. He didn't really know where to position himself before that. He was a lot of experience, but a debut is always tough and you could see that in everyone. Markovic looked the most confident, but he already knows Portuguese football. He is still a long way off the player that I know he can be though. All of the new players are creative and we have to give them time on the pitch. This squad gives us confidence to make choices, especially with us being in the Champions League. We will face the European champions next week, but we know what we are capable of and we are feeling confident."

Aldo Duscher visits Alvalade

Aldo Duscher was in Lisbon this week and the 1999/2000 Sporting league winner couldn't resist the opportunity to visit Alvalade.

“I am really happy to be here again. When I played here everything was different. We only had two pitches and we trained and played in Alvalade. Everything has changed for the better", said Aldo Duscher in an exclusive interview with the Sporting Journal.

The Argentinean's visit was assisted by Sporting's Support Office and president Bruno de Carvalho and the Alvalade boss is keen to repeat the initiative in the future: "For us it is great. We have already had Di Francesco, Mpenza, Acosta and now Duscher visit us and it is important to bring our champions here to remind us of our history.

Visiting the Sporting Museum before watching Sporting's win against Moreirense, Duscher reflected on the famous 1999/2000 league win: "It was a historic moment for Sporting. A lot of fans asked us to win the title in the last week, but of course we wanted it as well. We were nervous against Salgueiros, but we relaxed in the second-half."

Alvalade president spoke at length with SIC on Friday night

Bruno de Carvalho spoke in an extensive interview with SIC on Friday night, sharing his thoughts on everything ranging from Jorge Jesus to the state of Portuguese football, the transfer market and the new-look Sporting squad.

"We have the players that we wanted and the squad that we wanted. I said that Sporting was in the market and that whatever happens we wouldn't put our objectives in danger, which is mainly to build a squad which enables us to fight for national titles. We are happy with the business we did. Of the 70 million we sold players for, 54 million ended up in Sporting's account", opened the Alvalade president.

Still focusing on the transfer market, Carvalho revealed: "Yesterday I was with Slimani and he knows exactly what Sporting has done for him. He was playing in the Algerian league and had only been playing professional football for two years. He learnt a lot here and told me that he will come over at the end of the season to celebrate the title with us. Our relationship is also great with João Mário. Sometimes people don't realise that we have to reconcile various things during the transfer market, including the club's interests and its finances."

Adrien was inevitably a question raised during the interview, with the Sporting leader responding: "I have learn a lot about certain realities in football. The transfer window is a really complicated period and there are various people around the players who influence things. I am speaking about the president of Lyon for example, who spoke about an agent that was offering around Sporting's players. I will repeat what we have already said officially: "Adrien is a player who was trained here, he is a true professional and a person I really admire."

Bruno de Carvalho went on to speak about his relationship with Jorge Jesus and the content of the Sporting coach's press conference this week."Jorge Jesus didn't say anything that surprised me. Everything is new when we join a project like this and of course the first steps are never easy. I have always said that Sporting needs quality and needs to be really demanding. We could only bring in such a good coach and squad through the hard work of a lot of people. Jorge Jesus isn't a coach for just any club. Some people are not able to build up long term projects with a coach, but with him it is easy. We are ambitious and we want to leave our mark here."

The Sporting president finished with a final word on the current state of Portuguese football in general: "Portuguese football could and should undergo some big changes. I think that some things ar already being done. The referees have to be at liberty to do their best and not just focus on what rating they get. We have to provide the right conditions so that referees can go out there and do their best, which includes the support of the video referee. I have always supported the idea and I hope it happens and breaths some new life into Portuguese football."

Jorge Jesus expecting a tough challenge from Moreirense on Saturday

Jorge Jesus sat down with the press this Friday for his habitual pre-match press conference, ahead of Liga NOS matchday 4 against Moreirense. The weekend's visitors might not be one of Portugal's biggest names, however the Alvalade boss warned that his side will have to take the fixture seriously if they are to come away with three points.

"We will approach this game the same way we did with our other home matches this season. The most important thing is that we can live up to our potential and so far this season the team has been brilliant at doing that. That is what matters and that is what we have been working on during the week", opened Jorge, adding: "We will respect our opponent and they have some good young and talented players that are looking to make a name for themselves in this league. We will face a team that tries to keep organised in defence, but we are ready."

Preparing for the first encounter after a busy summer transfer market that has resulted in a notably different Alvalade squad, Jesus affirmed: "We are a privileged club, with some really talented players that left and some that didn't. João Mário and Slimani showed a great attitude and the same can be said of Adrien, William and Rui Patrício. These lads grew up here and the passion they have for the club makes them think a bit differently. They are 100% with us."

To finish, Jesus fended off a question on a coming midweek visit to the Spanish capital: "Honestly I wouldn't even have remembered the game against Real Madrid. We are focused on our next opponent, which is Moreirense."

Bruno de Carvalho out to show his support in return to Liga NOS action

Bruno de Carvalho travelled to Alcochete this morning to show his backing to the players ahead of Sporting's hosting of Moreirense on Saturday afternoon (18h15).

Accompanied by the Director of Professional Football, Octávio Machado, and the Club's Support Office Director, André Geraldes, the Sporting president had the pleasure of watching Bas Dost and Markovic work through the session.