If it depends on Frederico Varandas and Rúben Amorim himself, the coach will continue to lead Sporting next season, according to DN. The certainty that he will finish the season without any trophy and in 4th place in the championship does not change the plans of the president and the coach, but forces concessions and adjustments to the original plan, which included participation in the Champions League entailed in 2023-24.
When in January a Sporting source assured DN that the project would not be jeopardized if the Lions were denied access to the Champions League, now that next year’s farewell to the millionaires’ league is a fact, after the draw in the derby (2 – 2) of the 33rd round of the I Liga, the conviction remains. But, in order not to jeopardize the project from a sporting point of view, the club may have to sell the pass of some players…
The 4th place “only” gives access to the Europa League, which has a participation fee of five million euros, far from the approximately 30 million that could be guaranteed with participation in the group stage of the Champions. And although Frederico Varandas has made it a rule since his election as president (2018), budgets should not depend on European millions – which is why he has bet on the salary cap, training and valuing young players with long-term contracts and progressive wages to improve financial sustainability – Sporting lost its financial stability and had no room to plan the new season.
Participation in the Champions League has been essential to consolidate the Sporting brand and the project with Amorim as its protagonist since arriving in Alvalade in March 2020. That year he had the covid-19 pandemic as his main opponent and could no longer reverse the scenario that the team would finish in fourth place…which is now repeating after taking the title in 2020-21 and the 2nd place in 2021-22.
It is the first time that he has failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and that weighs heavily on a personal level. Contracted until June 2026, Amorim has been in good contact with the president and has already placed his future in the hands of Frederico Varandas several times, but will face some personal frustration and give in to the issue of selling players . And there are two trumps in sight. Ugarte and Gonçalo Inácio, the most valuable in the team and also the ones who generate the most coveted in the market. The departure of one of them is inevitable, the other can be avoided… The central defender admits to stay for another year if he extends and is increased, according to DN.
Preventing departures from jeopardizing sporting ambitions – as happened with Matheus Nunes while the season was already underway – is the mission of the Leonine structure and Amorim, who are on the podium of coaches with the most appearances for Sporting. In the derby, the coach scored the 186th game with a lion on his chest, equal to Jorge Jesus and only behind Paulo Bento (194) and Joseph Szabo (270). The first game was on March 8, 2020, at the reception of Desp. Aves (2-0), won a Championship, two League Cups and a Super Cup. Game 187 takes place at the farewell to the championship, in Vizela, this Friday (9:15 PM, Sport TV).
Technical foul by VAR in the derby
Sporting admitted yesterday that “it was a season that did not live up to expectations”, and although they “will not apologize in any way” for not being able to achieve their goals with referee errors, it is impossible to “make the wrong decisions ” going unnoticed and without rational explanation”, which were “detrimental” to the club and, in the specific case of Sunday’s derby, “distorted the sporting truth of the game”.
In the duel of the 33rd and penultimate round of the I Liga, João Pinheiro – with the help of VAR, Hugo Miguel – validated João Neves’ goal that gave Benfica a draw (2-2) and left the Alvalade club without a chance to win the third place, which could give access to the Champions League. A decision contested by Sporting. “The game against Benfica was marked by a decision at the end of the game in which the unanimity of the critics declared that the opponent’s equalizer was irregular because a red player blocked the Leonine captain. VAR technician who read the laws of the match inapplicable play, which prevented our team from winning the three points,” the club’s statement read reinforces the “need for the audio between the VAR and the refereeing teams to be known”.
Source: DN
