DOWN: Football is a sport of passions, but also of cliches and commonplaces. One of them says, repeatedly, that football is about the moment. And the moment is difficult for Rui Borges.
Suddenly, Sporting seems exhausted, empty. Just two weeks ago they appeared confident, resolute, brimming with ambition, ability and determination. April was cruel to the Lions and to Rui Borges, who renewed his contract at the most difficult moment of his time at Alvalade.
Football is a sport of passions, but also of clichés and commonplaces. One of them says, repeatedly, that football is about the moment. And the moment is difficult for Rui Borges.
After overcoming initial skepticism, he achieved a double victory that paved the way for the topic of a possible contract renewal. In response to repeated questions on the subject, Rui Borges repeatedly stated that he felt confident from day one in the club and that he didn’t need a new contract.
That makes sense. A coach depends on results = another football cliche = and a long=term contract is not, in itself, a guarantee of stability or longevity in the job.
To give Sporting’s coach his due, the Lions’ season was very good = until April.
They were in the final of the Portuguese Cup (as the big favorites), seemed capable of fighting for the Tri (and remember Farioli’s recent past…), had the best Champions League campaign in the club’s history (and one of the best by Portuguese teams in recent times). And there was even the feeling that they could have done more in the Champions League.
That may have been the problem: the way Sporting was eliminated by Arsenal left a frustration that marked a before and after for the team. Sporting was left without energy, without confidence, without solutions. Suddenly, they seem like a timid and not fearsome team.
The Cup is probably within their grasp, but if they finish third in the league, after letting the chance to fight for other objectives slip through their fingers, it might feel like too little.
Sporting has not won against its direct rivals this season (the games where titles are won) and has just conceded two draws against the bottom=placed teams (the games where titles are lost = just ask Benfica, who are still unbeaten in the league, won at Alvalade and could still see FC Porto crowned champions this Saturday). This categorization of games is yet another of those unwritten rules that define the truth of football.
Where did Rui Borges go wrong? By not rotating the squad more thoroughly between games? It would have been difficult with so many injuries. But isn’t it in football that they say “you only miss those who are there?” = oh, the cliches… By daring to dream of winning everything? But what would football be without ambition? Without dreams?
The truth is, it went badly. Sporting tried to take not a step, but a leap bigger than their leg could handle (more clichés…); they fought beyond their means and came out battered. Now they seem anxious for the final bell to ring to end the fight. At least, until the Cup.
Rui Borges’ contract renewal was announced between the two draws against the bottom-placed teams in the league. After the game against Tondela (those incredible last four minutes), the timing of this renewal might be questioned.
It will be a vote of confidence and a message of stability. A sign that Rui Borges is the man for the project, at a time when fans are distrustful and critics are waking up.
Rui Borges needs this. But he needs victories even more. Only they can heal the bad times.
Here’s another cliche in football.