Coach Ruben Amorim said this Monday that Sporting feel obliged to win titles this season, starting with the Football League Cup, in the semi-finals of which they will face Sporting Braga.
“We went through a sporting season without a win, so winning titles this season has become a must. We have such an opportunity. This is a different competition because last year we didn’t perform very well in the championship and we were knocked out of the tournament. The Portuguese Cup and the Champions League, but we managed to beat Sporting de Braga in the quarter-finals of the League Cup,” he recalled at the pre-press conference.
The roles have been reversed this season, with the Lions leading the championship and Minho’s side finishing fourth with 10 points, with recent defeats to Benfica (Taça de Portugal) and Porto (I League) but the rest of the tests ” will not take the field.”
“The stadium will be completely different and there will be a feeling of a kind of final throughout the entire area of the city of Leiria. Everything that has already happened in the championship will not take place in the League Cup. The opponent can change something. players, and it changes their playstyle a little. They have a very good squad and one of the best coaches in the history of the club,” says the coach.
Ruben Amorim, who has already won nine League Cups, six as a player (five with Benfica and one with Sporting) and three as a coach (another with Sporting and two with Sporting), also revealed, that Franco Israel and Trincao will start, while Pedro Gonçalves is questionable with a leg problem.
“I’m not going to say whether Paulinho will play. Trincao will play, but Arthur Jorge does not know for which team and who will play. In Braga [para o campeonato] We played with Morita in midfield and Paulinho is easier to play when Pote plays in midfield, but Pote has problems with his leg and is doubtful for the game,” the coach said.
On the other hand, Saint-Just and Matheus Reis are “called up” and could be options for the match, albeit with limited minutes, in a competition whose format has undergone several changes throughout the season and has never been agreed upon among the participants. fans.
“I agree with the group stage, all professional teams have the opportunity to compete and not just reach the Final Four. It’s a tough calendar but we have to make sacrifices to give more value to the League Cup. “I like this format because it gives everyone a chance to play and there are one or two surprises, like Estoril Praia. For me it has a lot of value, a title is a title and this is a chance for Sporting to get back to titles.” . this season,” he stressed, in a test of “very great importance.”
Sporting will face Sporting de Braga on Tuesday in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at the Estadio Municipal Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria, kick-off at 19:45, which will be refereed by Nuno Almeida of the Algarve Football Association.
The winner of the match will advance to the final, which will take place on Saturday at the same place and at the same time against the winner of the second semi-final match between Benfica and Estoril Praia, who will meet each other on Wednesday, also in Leiria, from 19: 45.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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