Another Man's Treasure

Another Man’s Treasure

Welcome once again to my new story.

Here he goes again I here you say and to that I’m probably guilty and worthy of receiving but I’ve had a drastic change of heart and have therefore decided that this save will be the one (I hope). My Rui Costa story isn’t over (Although at the moment I’m looking at it as if it were my bit on the side) but I will look to continue it.

Anyways! On to my new story and I will be my beloved…



SPORTING LISBON!!!

Many of you may be familiar with Blue’s story and I will admit I was heavily inspired but will aim to take a different avenue and ultimately aim to make the club I love greater than they have ever been.

As some of you may have known, Sporting have fallen off the podium with force and are disappearing off the footballing radar with pace. The club is in a financial mess and won’t play in Europe for the first time in a while this season after finishing 7th after yet another poor season.

Sporting has had it bad in the past few seasons but I’m here to change that. My journey starts here and I hope you guys enjoy it!

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Meet Sporting

Kits

Nickname

‘Os Leoes’ – The Lions
‘Os Verde e Brancos’ – The Green and Whites

Captain

Fabian Rinaudo

A defensive midfielder that leaves everything out on the pitch.

Key Players

Diego Capel

A workhorse who runs from start to finish and one of few players with real quality.

Rui Patricio

A promising career was blemished with abysmal mistakes at an early age but he has found his feet and has been closely watched by the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona and now Monaco. Comfortably Portugal’s number one.

Andre Carrillo

The young Peruvian has pace and skill in abundance and could be a key to get Sporting out of their troubles.

Legends

Krasimir Balakov

One of the greatest ever Bulagrian footballers played for Sporting from 1991 to 1995 and scored 43 goals in 138 games.

Liedson

Sporting’s all-time record goalscorer… enough said.

Mario Jardel

Known for his Porto days, the Brazilian had an immense 2001/02 season with Sporting in which he scored 42 domestic goals to help win the Taca de Portugal and league title.

Academy Graduates

Cristiano Ronaldo

The Real Madrid winger emerged into the Sporting in 2002 and impressed Sir Alex Ferguson in a friendly who would sign him for £12 million. The rest is history.

Luis Figo

The one time World Player of the Year played for Sporting in 1989 and by 1995 was wanted all around the world. He controversially signed for both Juventus and Barcelona in the same window, earning him a global ban. The Portuguese midfielder than went on to represent Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

Simao

Simao is one of Portugal’s most travelled players and swapped Sporting for Barcelona in 1999. Simao then returned to Lisbon, only to sign for rivals Benfica. Traitor #1

Nani

Once touted as the new Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani didn’t quite excel as expected at Manchester United but is a quality winger nonetheless.

Joao Moutinho

Joao Moutinho was given his debut in 2004 but emerged more frequently in 2005 and 2006. By 2008 he was already club captain and chased by Europe’s leading powerhouses. He stayed only to leave in 2010 to Porto. #Traitor 2

Ricardo Quaresma

Known for his exuberant showboating, Ricardo Quaresma had a bigger potential than Cristiano Ronaldo when he left to sign for Barcelona in 2003. He flopped, signed for Porto, joined Inter Milan and now finds himself in the United Arab of Emirates on a huge contract at Al-Ahli. A talent gone to waste.

Prospects

Bruma

The young winger shows striking resemblances to that of Sporting’s many big time wingers and is the most promising player in our academy.

Tiago Ilori

The centre back is being chased by Liverpool vigorously which shows just how good he can be.

Betinho

Portugal hasn’t had a successful big time striker in major tournaments since Nuno Gomes in Euro 2000. Benfica’s Nelson Oliveira is touted as the next big thing, but youthful Betinho is close.

Stadium

Estadio Jose Alvalade

The 50,000 capacity stadium was one of the arenas used in Euro 2004 hosted by Portugal, yet to be blessed by league glory.

Rivals

Objectives Throughout Our Journey

1. To get European football for next season – We desperately need money so getting back into Europe is essential and we have a season off to focus on doing so.

2. Become a talent pool – Sporting used to compete with the likes of Ajax and Barcelona but have instead invested terribly in recent years, leaving both the club in debt and in poor domestic state. If we are to get back on track, we need to invest in our kids.

3. Win the cup – There are two cups up for grabs and we need to win them and return a breed of winners.

4. Win the league – We want that number 1 spot which we haven’t had since 2002.

5. European Longevity – Ideally, we want to be consistent in Europe by reaching the knockout stages in the Champions League.

6. Win the Champions League – Both Porto and Benfica have got themselves the most coveted trophy in Europe and we want to join the party.

7. Become a powerhouse – Ultimately, we want to become one of the biggest clubs in Europe or the World. We are hungry for success. We don’t have the resources just yet but we will build and grow.

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SA-CKED

Sporting has announced the sacking of Ricardo Sa Pinto following a poor start to the season.

The former Sporting legend took over the hot seat last season after the abrupt sacking of Domingos Paciencia and guided them to a Europa League semi-final, beating the like of Manchester City on their way.

The Lisbon outfit also recovered well after a blip to climb back to fourth place last season but now find themselves in the bottom half of the League table and in grave danger of crashing out of the Europa League group stages.

Sporting president Godinho Lopes is thought to be looking at Porto legend Costinha and their ex manager Laszlo Boloni to take the slot.

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VERCAUTEREN IN

Sporting’s new manager has been announced by President Godinho Lopes as Franky Vercauteren.

The Belgian was league champion with Genk recently and has been given the hefty job of changing Sporting’s fortunes around.

Vercauteren replaces Ricardo Sa Pinto who failed to galvanise the squad. He now faces a must win game in the versus former club Genk to try and maintain their Europa League status.

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