Sporting react to Manuel Fernandes’ death with emotional video

Sporting today expressed “sorrow” at the death of Manuel Fernandes, their former player, coach and manager, who has died aged 73.

“To the family and friends of Sporting, we express our deepest condolences, not forgetting to praise and thank you for your years of effort and dedication to the club,” the Lions summed up.

Manuel Fernández, who died today after a long illness, was born in Sarrillos Pequenos, in Moite, on June 5, 1951. He made his name as a player, especially with Sporting, which he represented between 1975/76 and 1986/87, also passing through Sarrillense, CUF and Vitoria de Setúbal.

Sporting look back on the career of a man who “quickly established himself as a very important figure” in the team, classifying him as a “natural goalscorer” who, over more than a decade, became “an idol of a generation and one of the most important in the history” of the Lisbon residents.

In the green and white shirt he played over 400 games and scored over 250 goals, winning two national championships (1979/1980 and 1981/1982), two Portuguese Cups (1977/1978 and 1981/1982) and one Super Cup (1982).

The capital formation recalls that Manuel Fernandes later returned as a coach, having been an assistant and then, in the 2000/2001 season, head coach, winning the Super Cup.

He was also a director, responsible for the B team and, secondarily, the scouting department.

In the last years of his life, Manuel Fernandez worked as a commentator on the Sporting TV channel, “where his sportingism was visible,” and was also an ambassador for Sporting.

The player, who scored a poker in Sporting’s 7-1 defeat to Benfica in the 1986/87 season, played 30 games for the main team and scored seven goals.