What a difference a summer makes. In May, Sporting Lisbon were putting an end to a traumatic season which had seen them come a little too close to the relegation zone, before rallying to finish a disappointing seventh in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
Yet they are still second in the table this season, despite losing to league leaders FC Porto on Sunday night.
Having watched that game, it was clear that Porto were a cut above the Lisbon club, punishing Sporting on the break to win 3 – 1.
But it is encouraging that they are back in the Top Three where Sporting traditionally belong alongside Porto and Benfica.
The on-pitch success is all the more of a boost for the club as they still have acute financial problems, as we saw in Euro Footy Focus back in January.
Making the most of a plethora of loans and free signings, the club spent no more than €1 million during the summer window.
Van Wolfswinkel during his Sporting days
Meanwhile they sold 10 players including Ricky Van Wolfswinkel to Norwich for €10 million as well as two players who featured on the Newstalk Scouting Report.
Promising young defender Tiago Ilori (read about him here) was shipped to Liverpool for just under €9 million, while Bruma (read about the winger here) left for Galatasaray following a contract wrangle after his starring role at the U20 World Cup for Portugal.
In all they managed to raise almost €30 million in terms of transfer fees, although they will not get all of that money. For example they had already sold over half of Van Wolfswinkel’s rights to third parties in order to acquire quick funding to keep the club above water.
Yet selling the club’s big names have not caused as much of a headache as one would have thought. First of all, youth academy products likes Ilori and Bruma were not key players and had only started to establish themselves last season.
Secondly, some of the well-known names like Dutch pair Khalid Boulahrouz and Stijn Schaars did not have the requisite impact and the club was also able to rid itself of other underwhelming players.
Fredy Montero
Thirdly the club has been able to replace the goals of Van Wolfswinkel in spectacular fashion. The Dutchman scored almost 30 league goals in two seasons. His direct replacement Fredy Montero, who joined on loan from Seattle Sounders, has scored an astonishing nine goals in eight games.
The Colombian hit the ground running straight away by netting a hat-trick in the opener against Arouca and since then has only failed to score in two games. He also scored a header to earn a draw against city rivals Benfica in the Lisbon derby.
Significantly there have been changes in the boardroom and the technical area. New President Bruno de Carvalho has tasked himself with cleaning up the mess left by the previous administration and has looked to cut costs while spending wisely.
After using four managers last season, Sporting appointed former Braga and Olympiacos manager Leonardo Jardim who led the former to their first ever third placed finish and surprisingly left the latter while sitting top of the Greek Superleague. Olympiacos were 10 points clear and he was allegedly sacked by the chairman for non-footballing reasons that will not be printed here.
He has been known for giving young players a chance and given that Sporting has one of the most famous academies in world football, the club is looking to revive its potency.
While Sporting have followed other Portuguese clubs’ leads by having a strong Brazilian contingent, it is noticeable that youth academy products like goalkeeper Rui Patricio, midfielders Cedric Soares, Andre Martins, William Carvalho, Adrien Silva and forward Wilson Eduardo have become regulars in the squad.
English youngster and fellow Sporting graduate Eric Dier has also become a member of the first team squad. Having a core of players that know – and presumably love the club – is an underrated benefit for clubs.
They will not win the league. Porto are too strong and head-to-head results between the top clubs are important in the title chase. But if Sporting can maintain their form, they could hold off Braga who have usurped their position as Portugal’s third team in recent years, and get into the Champions League via the qualifiers. In terms of their financial problems, that will be vital for the club’s future.
