Ruben Amorim says it requires ‘a lot of luck’ but won’t rule out a goal in Europe

Sporting coach Ruben Amorim said this Wednesday that winning the Europa League with the Portuguese club would require “a lot of luck”, but did not rule out that goal could be a goal later in the season.

“I know the team is fully prepared, all the players are prepared, but you need a lot of luck. To win the championship you need a lot of luck, to win the Europa League with a Portuguese club and the championship you need luck,” said the coach in Alcochete.

At a press conference dedicated to the meeting with Young Boys in the second leg of the playoffs for reaching the 1/8 finals of European competition, Amorim recalled that “there are still teams of excellent quality”, such as Liverpool. Bayer Leverkusen confirmed that “the priority is the championship”, but did not completely close the door to the European goal.

“We always say that [o campeonato] is our priority, but taking into account the progress of the Europa League and the lighter calendar, because from two to three days [entre jogos] It’s a huge difference when it balances out, if we pass all the tests, we won’t give up anything,” he suggested.

In this sense, he acknowledged that February “is a very important month” at that time “due to difficult games and short recovery times”, so it is “decisive in some competitions and important in others.” .

“As far as the championship is concerned, it is always important. It will not be decisive, because there is still a lot of championship ahead, a lot of difficult games, but you can’t hide it, this is an important moment of the season. Also because the Portuguese Champions have not been losing so many points lately,” commented the Lions coach.

Sporting will host Young Boys on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 play-off, kicking off at 8pm at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon, refereed by Slovakian Ivan Kruzljak.

Ruben Amorim’s side won the first leg in Switzerland 3-1, but the manager warned that “no two games are the same” and there is currently “no away goal advantage” in the event of a draw at the end of the two games. meetings, but did not hide the fact that the “Lions” have an advantage to move forward in the competition.

“Everything is open, but it is impossible to hide the fact that we have an advantage. Judging by what we showed in Switzerland, because we played with our fans, on our field, it is impossible to hide it. The goal is to complete the round, but the players know that it is not closed,” he concluded.

In this regard, central defender Luis Neto also recalled that “the tie is not yet closed, despite the signs” of the first meeting, and suggested that the players want to maintain the positive momentum of the Lions.

“We obviously want to continue in this competition because it also feeds into the good moment that Sporting are experiencing and we don’t want to lose sight of anything. And we want our performances and performances in this game to also prepare us for our difficult game on Sunday,” for the championship, noted Luis Neto.

Sporting have won thirteen of their last fourteen matches, which they lost 1-0 to Sporting Braga in the League Cup semi-finals in January.

In addition to this competition, which Minho’s team won, Ruben Amorim’s team competes on all fronts, including the Portuguese Cup, where they will face Benfica in the semi-finals, rivals with whom they share the top spot in the Champions League. I League, with the same 55 points, but one less game played.