The club offer condolences to friends and family of the club legend

Sporting Clube de Portugal mourn the loss of Manuel Fernandes, the club's former player, coach and director, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 73.

Fernandes arrived at the club in 1975 from CUF and quickly established himself as a very important player. A natural goalscorer, over the more than ten years he played for Sporting CP, he became the idol to a generation and one of the most important figures in the club's history.

He played more than 400 games for the club and scored more than 250 goals, winning two league titles (1979/1980 and 1981/1982), two Taça de Portugal (1977/1978 and 1981/1982) and a Supertaça (1982 ).

He later returned to Sporting CP as a coach: First as an assistant and, in 2000/01, head coach, winning the Supertaça. He was also a director, in charge of the B team and, in a second spell, the scouting department.

In the final years of his life, he worked as a commentator on Sporting TV and as an ambassador for Sporting CP.

The club extend our deepest condolences and express our gratitude for Fernandes' years of dedication.

'O Clássico' starts the Final Four stage of the competition

Sporting Clube de Portugal will face FC Porto in the semifinals of the Taça da Liga on January 19th, 2021, as the competition hits the Final Four stage.

The draw took place this Monday at the Liga Portugal headquarters in Porto. Rúben Amorim's side will take on FC Porto for the second time this season, after their previous meeting in the 2-2 Liga NOS stalemate at the Estádio José Alvalade. The other semifinal, between SC Braga and SL Benfica, takes place on January 20th, with the final on the 23rd.

Sporting CP and FC Porto have played one another in the Taça da Liga on four occasions; Os Leões winning 4-1 back in 2008/09, with the other three games ending in draws (Sporting CP triumphing on penalties). They were the two finalists in the 2018/19 edition of the competition, won by Sporting CP.

Reacting to the announcement, club representative Manuel Fernandes said that "The expectations are always the same. The four best teams in the country are playing in the competition, so it would be similarly hard whether we drew FC Porto, SL Benfica or SC Braga. Sporting CP have expectations for this cup and will try, with dignity , to overcome the brilliant team FC Porto have. That is our objective." 

The Final Four of the 2020/2021 Taça da Liga will take place at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Stadium in Leiria.