This Thursday, Sporting Sturm will host Graz in Alvalade (8 p.m., SIC), with qualification for the Europa League play-off already guaranteed and second place in Group D assured, in a match that will take place just a few days before the classic with FC Porto, on Monday evening. It was a quiet press conference by Rúben Amorim, where the coach spoke about various topics, such as arbitration, and even left a confession.
Amorim started by asking about the work of V. Guimarães-Sporting referee João Pinheiro, who was heavily criticized, including by president Frederico Varandas, for the penalty awarded that cost Sporting three points (Adán’s foul on Ricardo’s sleeves). “I’m not going to go into that. I’m not talking about referees, I’m talking about the matches, sometimes more intense at the end of the matches. I’m not going to comment on the president’s words,” he started by saying.
Afterwards, the Sporting coach admitted that, despite not speaking publicly about the referees’ work, he feels the injustice just like others. “I talk to someone when I enter the dressing room, but here I don’t because I know it won’t change anything. I prefer not to talk or play that game because I stay healthier. I get angry like the others. but I have put up with it. There are certain red lines that I have set for myself. In my country I will not contribute to the confusion. My players get angry with me if I don’t defend them, but I prefer not to do. Apologies. I will not fall into the confusion, I will try to do it differently, do what is my little job. The president has a different job than mine, my job is to present results on the field. Sometimes Does arbitration have an influence, but I’m not going to talk about that.”
Gyökeres won’t keep you awake at night
Another topic on the agenda is the greed for Gyökeres, the Swedish striker who signed for Sporting, who is today the biggest figure in the team and who is almost daily associated with big European sharks, most recently Chelsea, from the Premier League . .
A subject that does not bother Amorim, however. “Gyökeres has a release clause [100 milhões de euros], and it was said that it would only come out through the clause in January. It is normal for clubs to pay attention to teams in Portugal, they know that the players in our championship are prepared for the best competitions in the world. But I don’t lose hours of sleep on this aspect, I lost sleep because there was the idea that we had to sell, not now, now they have to pay the clause,” he explained.
The Sporting coach left another guarantee regarding possible reinforcements at the reopening of the market in January, arguing that if anyone comes in, it will not be to fill the absences of players like Catamo, Morita and Diomandé , who will serve their respective teams. “As for the reinforcements, we will have time to think, but they will not be for the players who go to the competitions, because it is only a month. They are players for now, but for the future. We have this problem of the competitions are Now, but we must also think about the future. What could be an agreement is thinking about the present and the future”.
Amorim revealed that he has not yet chosen the eleven for tonight’s match and left a guarantee taking into account Monday’s classic with FC Porto. “All the players who start or are on the bench will be prepared to play for FC Porto. No player can look and say: ‘I played 90 minutes on Thursday, I can’t play on Monday’. If it was Sunday.” [jogo com o FC Porto], would have an influence. Because it’s Monday, it doesn’t have any impact,” he said, reinforcing his position: “I guarantee everyone that it doesn’t matter whether they play 90 minutes. They can play against FC Porto. How can they be on the bench against Sturm Graz and I think the idea for the match against FC Porto is a certain type of player and I have changed my mind. The players know what they are counting on. We have to win and play well. Only then can they play against FC Porto,” he said, confirming that Catamo, like St. Juste, is not an option for tonight, but that Daniel Bragança has recovered.
Source: DN
