Sporting Clube de Portugal are looking to get back to their past glories – and they are finally on course.
The club, commonly known as Sporting Lisbon in English-speaking countries, are one of the world’s most supported football clubs and were Portugal’s leading club in the 1940s and 1950s.
The cinco violinos – five violins – made up of Jesus Correia, Manuel Vasques, Albano Pereira, Jose Travassos and Fernando Peyroteo changed the face of Portuguese football with their attacking play and free-scoring exploits. Peyroteo’s goalscoring record is extraordinary – he scored 543 goals in 334 games during his career!
But a Eusebio-inspired Benfica became Portugal’s leading club during the 1960s and 1970s and, in more recent times, FC Porto have led the way.
A seventh-place finish in the 2012/13 campaign, coupled with years of boardroom mismanagement, put the financial viability of Sporting at risk.
But since Bruno de Carvalho was elected as club president in March 2013, Lisbon’s Lions have become a real force again.
The biggest turning point in de Carvalho’s reign came last summer when he managed to persuade Benfica boss Jorge Jesus to swap the red half of Lisbon for the green and white hoops of Sporting.
The 61-year-old led Sporting’s rivals to three titles in six seasons as well as two European finals. Prior to the trophy-laden years at Estadio da Luz, Benfica had won the title just once in 15 years.
Upon his appointment, Jesus said: “I can promise you that, from now on, Sporting will be competing for all the major honours in Portugal.”
Sporting took on Jesus’ previous employers in early March at Estadio Jose Alvalade in what was a match likely to determine the 2015/16 Primeira Liga champions.
Jesus’ side went into the game full of confidence, having beaten their cross-city rivals convincingly earlier in the campaign, but Benfica gained revenge and recorded a 1-0 win to go top. In the event, the league title proved a step too far for Sporting this season – Benfica wrapped up a third successive title when they beat Nacional 4-1 on the final day of the season.
It meant they finished two points clear of Sporting, who rounded off their season with a 4-0 victory against Braga.
Nonetheless, Jesus will be confident he can make his new side top dogs in the years to come. To do that, he will need to keep his squad intact. The club’s famous Alcochete academy – which has developed the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and England international Eric Dier – continues to bring through talented youngsters.
Some have gained the attention of European heavyweights since becoming a mainstay in the Sporting first team.
Defensive midfielder William Carvalho is one man that has shone since coming through the academy. The 23-year-old has since gone on to win 17 international caps for Portugal and been chased by numerous leading European clubs, including Arsenal.
Carvalho has been joined in a midfield trio by captain Adrien Silva and Joao Mario, meaning Jesus has deployed a homegrown midfield for the majority of the campaign.
This comes after some Sporting supporters harboured concerns at the appointment of Jesus at the start of the season as he was criticised for failing to give youngsters at Benfica a chance.
Sporting have also done good business since de Carvalho became president. One of the better signings was striker Islam Slimani for just €300,000 less than three years ago.
The Algerian international has gone on to score more than 40 goals in under 80 games, and Sporting turned down six bids of up to €24m in the January transfer window.
Bryan Ruiz, meanwhile, has impressed since joining the club from Championship strugglers Fulham last summer. The Costa Rica international failed to show his true potential in London, but the former Twente attacking midfielder has exceeded expectations and become a key cog in Sporting’s attacking play with his creativity, skill and vision to unlock the opposition defence.
Jesus and de Carvalho could finally return Sporting to their past successes, and they certainly have the resources to do so.
Written by Danny Rust
