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The Bernese Young Boys will meet the offensively strong Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League – and the new Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
Sporting Lisbon has scored 58 goals in 20 games in the current championship. As many as at this point in time 50 years ago. No wonder the “Lions” lead the table with equal points ahead of city rivals Benfica (one game more).
“It comes as a surprise to everyone that Sporting has one of the best offenses in Europe this season,” says Ricardo Granada. The 30-year-old has been writing for the sports newspaper for 9 years Record exclusively about the 19-time Portuguese champion.
Sporting is currently at its peak this season.
The most important people at Sporting Lisbon
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Legend: A Swede Viktor Gyökeres scored the goals for the Green-Whites. imago images/Globallmagens
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Legend: A Dane Morten Hjulmand holds the midfield together for stability. The 24-year-old joined Sporting from Lecce and, along with Gyökeres, is one of the most expensive purchases in the club’s history. imago images/Atlantico Press
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Legend: Not enforced at Barcelona But Francisco Trincao is enjoying great form. The 24-year-old has scored every time in the last 5 games. imago images/Maciej Rogowski
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Legend: Polyvalent Pedro Gonçalves can play in the center or on the wing. The 25-year-old provides a lot of assists, but is also a goal threat himself. imago images/Globallmagens
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Legend: Builder of Success Coach Ruben Amorim. imago images/Atlantico Press
“The man who changed everything for Sporting is called Viktor Gyökeres,” says Granada. A name worth remembering. The Swede with Hungarian roots alone has scored 16 league goals. The 25-year-old is an absolute whiz kid in Portugal. Last summer, those responsible at Sporting moved him from the English second division club Coventry City to Lisbon for 21 million euros. Since then, the 1.87 m tall center forward has scored in practically every game. Thanks to 38 goals in 29 games, Gyökeres is one of the top attackers in Europe.
Sporting and the two Scandinavian strokes of luck
Gyökeres is likely to leave the club sooner rather than later. “There were already fears this winter that he would leave. It was said that Chelsea had shown interest. But the exit clause is 100 million euros,” explains Granada.
The Sporting fans forgive him for his Benfica past. Because he made the club champions again in 2021 after a 19-year dry spell.
The addition of defensive midfielder Morten Hjulmand was almost as important. The Dane replaced the Uruguayan Manuel Ugarte, who was transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for 60 million euros, and was impressive with his presence.
And what about your own offspring? After all, Sporting is considered the cradle of stars and has produced greats like Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo. There is no new world footballer in sight. Central defender Gonçalo Inacio has at least made it to the national team. The market value of the 22-year-old left-footer is 40 million euros.
Program note
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A summary of the YB-Sporting game (kick-off: Thursday 6:45 p.m.) can be seen shortly after the end of the game on srf.ch/sport and in the SRF Sport app. A more detailed version from 11:50 p.m. in the program “Europa League – Highlights” on SRF two.
Coach Amorim is actually a Benfica man
With Ruben Amorim, who swears by a 3-4-3 system, there is also a young coach on the sidelines. The 39-year-old comes from arch-rivals Benfica, where he was a junior and a professional for a long time. “The Sporting fans forgive him because he made the club champions again in 2021 after a 19-year drought,” says Granada. A great future is also prophesied for Amorim.
Artificial turf as a problem?
“Sporting is currently at its peak this season, scoring 26 goals in the last 5 league games,” says Granada. Most recently, CL participants Braga were swept out of the stadium 5-0. Ex-Barça player Francisco Trincao is in top form. But are there also weak points?
“The defense is no longer as good as it was a few years ago. And the Sporting players are not used to playing on artificial turf,” says Granada. In addition, the burden of English weeks is very high. Rotations are unavoidable and the Europa League is not Sporting’s top priority.