The José Alvalade stadium will host Sporting versus Manchester City in the Europa League on Wednesday
Last season was a memorable one for Portuguese club football on the international stage. Three Europa League semi-finalists and an all-Portuguese final proved that despite chronic financial problems and what is perceived as a weak league, Portuguese club sides continue to punch above their weight when in comes to continental football.
José Mourinho famously said in 2004 that “the Champions League is not made for Portuguese clubs,” before partly disproving his own words by leading the Dragons to victory in the competition.
I say partly, because a Portuguese team winning the Champions League is an extraordinary achievement, and perhaps had more to do with Mourinho’s genius than the capacity of the Liga ZON Sagres to produce such a strong side.
But in the Europa League, reality has hit hard this year. The two teams that contested last season’s final, Braga and FC Porto, were knocked out in the first post-group round. Turkish side Besiktas got the better of the Arsenalistas, while Porto’s attempt to retain the trophy was cruelly extinguished by a ruthless Manchester City.
On both counts it is fair to say that the vastly superior investment in players from the Turks and the English led to a logical conclusion.
So Portugal’s sole representative in a competition that brought so much joy to the country last season are Sporting, who ironically must now tackle the very same Manchester City who made short work of Liga leaders Porto. No easy task.
To make matters worse, Sporting have shown dreadful form since the turn of the year. Sacking Domingos Paciência and appointing Sá Pinto initially brought about an upturn in results, but the performances of the Lions continue to leave much to be desired, and the injury curse seems to have exacerbated since the Alvalade dugout had a new occupant.
Pinto issued a tremendous rallying call in the pre-match press conference saying, “in high-level competition being favourites means little. We are Sporting and we do not fear anybody.”
Nevertheless, should Sporting go into the second leg in Manchester still in with a chance of adding to Portugal’s record of two winners and two runners-up in the last ten years of Europe’s second-tier competition, it will be an achievement in itself.
José Mourinho famously said in 2004 that “the Champions League is not made for Portuguese clubs,” before partly disproving his own words by leading the Dragons to victory in the competition.
I say partly, because a Portuguese team winning the Champions League is an extraordinary achievement, and perhaps had more to do with Mourinho’s genius than the capacity of the Liga ZON Sagres to produce such a strong side.
But in the Europa League, reality has hit hard this year. The two teams that contested last season’s final, Braga and FC Porto, were knocked out in the first post-group round. Turkish side Besiktas got the better of the Arsenalistas, while Porto’s attempt to retain the trophy was cruelly extinguished by a ruthless Manchester City.
On both counts it is fair to say that the vastly superior investment in players from the Turks and the English led to a logical conclusion.
So Portugal’s sole representative in a competition that brought so much joy to the country last season are Sporting, who ironically must now tackle the very same Manchester City who made short work of Liga leaders Porto. No easy task.
To make matters worse, Sporting have shown dreadful form since the turn of the year. Sacking Domingos Paciência and appointing Sá Pinto initially brought about an upturn in results, but the performances of the Lions continue to leave much to be desired, and the injury curse seems to have exacerbated since the Alvalade dugout had a new occupant.
Pinto issued a tremendous rallying call in the pre-match press conference saying, “in high-level competition being favourites means little. We are Sporting and we do not fear anybody.”
Nevertheless, should Sporting go into the second leg in Manchester still in with a chance of adding to Portugal’s record of two winners and two runners-up in the last ten years of Europe’s second-tier competition, it will be an achievement in itself.
