Borges: "The greatest motivation we can have is to defend something that's ours"
17 Oct, 2025
The coach speaks ahead of the Taça de Portugal campaign
Sporting Clube de Portugal return to action this Saturday, against FC Paços de Ferreira in their first match in the Taça de Portugal. Rui Borges spoke ahead of the game in a press conference.
The mentality for the match Against FC Paços Ferreira
"It’s about two things: Tactics means studying the opposition, who have been to a Taça de Portugal final and two semifinals. They’ve already played in the UEFA Champions League qualifying round this season. Therefore, the greatest respect we can have for them is to look at them seriously, both in terms of their talent and tactically. In terms of mentality, it's about understanding that we're going to be defending the cup. We really want to be in this season’s final at Jamor, which means a lot to all of us, and which lifted us last season. The greatest motivation we can have is to defend something that's ours, something we achieved with great effort and dedication. We have to put that into practice again to reach another Taça de Portugal final, which is our greatest desire."
Maximum demands
"We want to win and we want to get better. We've shown that we were the best. We've had a very productive start to the season in that sense, demonstrating the team's individual and collective quality. In a less successful game, we were hurt because we couldn't be the Sporting CP we've been up to now, and that affected us. It's about the maximum demands we place on ourselves in our daily work. The players must be hurt when we aren’t able to be the Sporting CP we want to be -and that we've managed to be most of the time."
Sporting CP creating the most chances
"The formation is very subjective. The vast majority of players play in their usual positions. We have had Pote, Trincão, Hjumand, Inácio, and Quenda all in great form. Sporting CP have never produced so much offensively. We’re the team that create the most chances, and also wastes the most; but in order to waste chances, you first have to create them. We allow the second fewest chances to our opponents. If we look at the numbers, it's not even about the system. It’s down to the dynamics. The game against SC Braga and the second half against GD Estoril Praia weren't about the formation; it was about our own incompetence -including my own as coach, because I'll always be the most responsible, and I'll always be the one to stand up for the players. Perhaps I wasn't able to explain that in the best way possible. SC Baga, who didn't pose much of a threat to us, had possession and put too many players in the first stage of their build-up, so it was difficult to time the pressure. We ran too much, but at times we did so poorly. It has a lot to do with that, not the formation, because the players being at their best statistically speaks for itself."
Motivation surrounding the cup
"I'm focused on what we can do in the Taça de Portugal. The buzz is immense, constantly, about Sporting CP and everything else. It's a sign that we're winners and that in the past, we've won a lot. My focus is on the Taça de Portugal match, but to enjoy it, we have to start this campaign tomorrow in a 'fight,' so to speak, to defend what we won last season. It's something that brings back many memories for me personally, too, because it's something that has had a profound impact on me and something I've always wanted, ever since I started playing football. I came from the bottom level and I fully understand what the Taça de Portugal means. For me, the memories are immense, such as having my parents and my whole family in the stands."
Pedro Gonçalves' renewal
"Pote's renewal is related to the club's confidence in him. It also increases his responsibility, as he has been a very important player in Sporting CP's achievements in recent years. It conveys the enormous confidence in him; he's very focused on winning more, on aiming higher, wanting to help. He’s someone who missed many months of playing time last season and wants to get back to his best form. He is becoming an important player again, and wants to feel like an important player. Our biggest 'fight' is to motivate him every day, because he's someone who has already won a lot and done everything at Sporting CP. The renewal also gives him that motivation, with the confidence we all have in the importance he has for the team and at the club."
Being prepared for FC Paços de Ferreira
"Sporting CP have to be prepared. The players have been coming back from international duty gradually, and we have to be careful about giving too many minutes to some players, but we're prepared. Our biggest motivation is to enter a competition where we'll defend something that's ours and that we want to continue to be ours. That's why that's our biggest motivation, regardless of the opposition. They will be incredibly motivated to face the league champions and cup holders in front of their fans. But I also believe we'll be supported by many Sporting CP fans, who will make us feel like we’re at home again -which is what's been happening in away games and I have no doubt will happen tomorrow as well.”
Last year’s win
"Sporting CP won the cup because we were the better side. It’s as simple as that, and we deserved it. It's there in the club museum, it's ours, 101%on merit, for everything the players were capable of throughout the campaign, all the setbacks we faced, for being focused and ambitious and at the last minute turning the tie around. Of course, I talk to the players, but the players never asked me to change any structure. They didn't ask. It was simply because I didn't have any midfielders, and in a 4-3-3 I needed three midfielders. I didn't even have one, let alone three. I had to adapt to what we had, and I had to make the most of Zeno [Debast] as a midfielder. Suddenly, he became a luxury midfielder. Sometimes people ask me why he doesn't play in midfield. He's an extraordinary player in both positions [centre back and midfield]. It's just a matter of circumstance. What makes me proud is that we won trophies despite many difficulties, with many young players playing from game to game. We played without Morten [Hjulmand], without Viktor [Gyokeres], without Geny, without Pote for months. We were champions with Pote playing at 50 percent in the final games. When I arrived, there were countless injuries, which led me to adapt to what we had and look for solutions, because we didn't have any for this formation, let alone for mine.”
Alisson growing and Dimoande better prepared
"I'll start with Alisson. Opportunity isn't about the World Cup being in Portugal, but about his current situation and his growth. He's shown this growth, he's been listening, he's better understanding the pressure he's under. He's been growing and has been important in the moments he's been playing. He’s been fighting for more opportunities, for more minutes, and that doesn't mean it's just because it's the World Cup coming up. He's been fighting for that. The opportunity has to do with his growth, not the competition itself. He's a kid who's been growing a lot, and we believe he'll be a very important player in the future and that he'll have a very bright future -also due to his individual qualities.
Diomande is better prepared for the game tomorrow. It was important that he didn't go away with the national team because we need to give him that boost. He's more capable of responding, more capable of being a starter, which hasn't happened in recent games because he didn't have that ability yet. He's an important player, with everything he gives us physically, and he stands out in that duel-based approach, in his physical competitiveness. He's an important player, and fortunately, we have him back."
Players unavailable
"Nuno [Santos] and Dani [Bragança] are recovering. Gonçalo Inácio came back with a slight knock, nothing major. These are the two absences we have, unfortunately. These are the two players [Nuno Santos and Daniel Bragança] who have been injured for the longest time. I really want them back. They are two players who have to serve as an example for all of us -not only for their teammates, but for us coaches, the entire structure, because they are very resilient in terms of what their careers have been like. Despite serious injuries, they are a true example of what it means to have the ambition to return, to help, and to want to win."