Huge expectations surround the likes
of Fabio Silva, Romario Baro, and Diogo
Leite among others. The big question
for Porto is whether or not these young
stars, and Conceicao himself, will stick
around at the Estadio do Dragao.
Rumours abound that Porto will look to
cash in on one or more of their talented
youth players to balance the books.
With Benfica doing a U-turn in their
youth policy by appointingJesus, well-
known for his reticence when it comesto trusting young players, and the future
of Porto’s starlets up in the air, Sporting
are set to resume their historical role
as the club that most invests in its
homegrown talent.
To be blunt, it is the only aspect
of Portuguese football where the
Lions may come out on top. Chronic
mismanagement at boardroom level
and a complete lack of direction led
to another dismal season for Sporting,
further widening the chasm to the
two perennial title contenders. The
appointment of rookie coach Ruben
Amorim initially gave the club a boost,
but it was no great surprise when
Braga – Amorim’s former club –
stole third place on goal difference
at the finishing tape.
Sporting have vowed to go back to
basics and make its academy players
the core of its team, and the final weeks
of the season did at least give the club
a few rays of hope of a better future.
Amorim’s decision to select players
almost entirely in the17-22 age bracket
upon the resumption of football in
June enabled teenage defenders
Nuno Mendes and Eduardo Quaresma
to showcase their indisputable potential,
and wingerJovane Cabral to lay bare the
folly of discarding
academy players.
Cabral had started
his career brilliantly
in early 2018-19,
only to be
inexplicably
pushed out of the
team by a series
of expensively-recruited transfer punts.
When given a second chance and
restored to the line-up in 2020, he
was one of the best players not only
of Sporting, but in Portugal as a whole,
winning the Player of the Month award
inJune.
Nevertheless, so far have Sporting
fallen, that reclaiming third place from
an effervescent Braga next season will
be seen as progress.
Tom Kundertfinances, the Blue and Whites have
beaten their foes from the capital
to the crown in two of the last three
seasons under Sergio Conceicao, a
coach who personifies the northerners’
fiercely competitive identity.
Conceicao’s future was cast in doubt
earlier this summer, with reports linking
him to former club Internazionale.
Should he depart, he would leave Porto
in better shape than he found them.
Conceicao got the most out of a cluster
of experienced high-quality performers
in Alex Telles,Jesus Corona, Danilo and
Agustin Marchesin, and is gradually
ushering in a vintage crop of youngsters
who lifted the UEFA Youth League
trophy in 2018-19.
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“We’re going to crush the opposition. We want
to win everything, because I’m used to winning
everything...I haven’t come to Benfica for my
retirement. I’ve come to win”
Returning Benfica coach Jorge JesusReigning champions...Porto last
defended the title in 2012-13