Alvalade youngsters in Poland for Hope for Mundial

Alvalade’s youth team are in Poland for the Hope for Mundial Tournament. Making the most of their third day in Warsaw, the Sporting starlets took the opportunity to visit the city centre.

Sporting TV is along for the ride and took the opportunity to speak with some of the players. “People are taking pictures us because of the symbol we have on our chest. It shows how big a club this it. It was a really interesting visit”, said Miguel Ângelo Correia, adding: “Everything is going as expected. Today was our best day of training yet and we are being well looked after.”

Marco Fernandes also gave his backing to the visit: “I really like it. It was a nice trip and we have seen a lot of things about World War II. Lunch was really great too and so was training. Everything is going well and it feels like we are being looked after because we are Sporting.”

Rúben, also known as 'Ronaldo', also spoke about the day’s busy schedule: “I most liked the interaction we have had. We have met up with the Mexican, Colombian and Jordanian teams and it was really nice to talk to them.”

The head of the Alvalade contingent, Pedro Baptista, had the final visit about the trip so far: “The main objective of this initiative is the social factor. It is the human part of our athletes and it is good for them to get to know more about culture, the city and its history. It was also nice to spend some time with the other national teams.”

The Sporting Academy once ranks with the world's elite

The Sporting Academy is again attracting the headlines, this time named in the world top 15 by the German version of the ‘90min’ site.

Aurélio Pereira’s role as one of the “most experienced European coaches” is also noted, with 90min also citing the examples of Cristiano Ronaldo, Quaresma, Simão and Nani as products of the academy, as well as the millions of euros generated from player transfers.