The coach looks at the Taça de Portugal semifinal second leg against FC Porto

Sporting CP head to the Estádio do Dragão to play FC Porto on Wednesday, in the second leg of the Taça de Portugal semifinals. The team hold a 1-0 advantage from the first leg at Alvalade.

Coach Rui Borges held a pre-match press conference to preview the game.
 
The strategic approach to the game
“We can expect a very competitive game, above all. FC Porto will be true to their style, intense in the initial moments of their press -especially with them being at home. They lost the first leg of the tie, and it's natural that they will intensify that pressure even more. They are a team that press very high and are also well organised as a unit when they can't do that. I think they won't stray too far from FC Porto's normal image, as a team strong physically and tough in duels. It will be a competitive game, and Sporting CP will also be true to our style. Both teams will want to win and get to the final.”

His possible contract renewal
“I'm only afraid of death, because I really enjoy living. I'm focused on the game. I've spoken many times about the renewal. I'm happy, I have a contract until 2027, there is everyday confidence shown in me, and therefore I'm very calm about my future.”

Opportunities remaining in 2025/26
“I won’t dwell on ‘ifs’, because we are focused on what we are still competing for. In Liga Portugal there is still no champion crowned, in the Taça de Portugal we are fighting for a place in the final and, therefore, that is what we are focused on. We know very well how our journey has been. We are in the fight for trophies, which is the first objective for a great club, and we have done that very well. 

This has been a typical week for a big club. Even though we went out of the Champions League, it’s a sign that people look at us with that greatness. It’s good, and it shows the value of our work. I think we have dignified Sporting CP in the best way and the players have had a fabulous season. In the league we are further off the top, but there is still no champion crowned and, therefore, it’s about always believing. The first-placed team have had a great season -better than ours, unfortunately. We are very motivated and calm, because we know what we have to do and what the game means.”

The penalty missed by Luis Suárez 
“The penalty takers are well defined and will not change. The game against SL Benfica is in the past and we are focused on FC Porto.”

Visiting the Estádio do Dragão
“Whether or not we will be received well, you have to ask the opponents. What I know is that FC Porto have always been very well received at Alvalade, and we expect to be received that way too.”

Squad depth 
“I’m not going to compare us with our rivals. Logically, I would like to have the entire squad available, with Quenda, Luís Guilherme and Fotis [Ioannidis] at one hundred percent, because it would give us other solutions and depth to manage some of the workload in these surreal two months in terms of the number of games we will play. We haven’t been able to manage the squad as well as we wanted, but that’s part of the game. Whether there is greater or lesser difficulty, we have to do our best; that’s what we’ve been doing and tomorrow will be another game in that sense. There has to be a fantastic level of commitment, with or without us suffering fatigue, and we have to give everything on the pitch.”

Injuries
“João Simões, unfortunately, is out until the end of the season. Iván [Fresneda] remains a doubt, as his is very much a day-to-day issue, but he may be out of the game. Nuno [Santos] is out. Regarding the injured players, I believe they will be available before the end of the season, because they are already working on the pitch.”

The mental impact of the derby
“Sometimes physical fatigue is compounded by mental fatigue. At the moment it's quite noticeable, both for the fans and for us, but we have to be balanced. A while back, people were asking about how we won four games past the 90th minute, and now we've lost two important games in stoppage time. That's football, and we have to be balanced and deal with it, understanding how it happened. The team gave everything, both against Arsenal and against SL Benfica, where suddenly we went from almost going 2-1 up to losing 1-2.”

"A big club want to be in the final stages of competitions, and tomorrow's game gives us that possibility. We really want it, and I feel the players are very focused and calm.”

Luis Suárez's current form
“We have to make a cold assessment of things. He's a player who has given everything for the team. His commitment has been incredible; he's lacking some things, but he's still an important player. He'll have fewer opportunities in some games due to the demands and fatigue, perhaps, so he has to focus on making the most of them. That's what he's focused on, and he knows the confidence he has from all of us.”

Preparing the starting XI
“A coach has to consider many scenarios, so it's difficult to make decisions. It has a lot to do with the moment and understanding how the players are, with a lot of dialogue and communication, in terms of their physical and mental condition. We don't think about extra time, because we really want to reach the end of the 90 minutes and advance to the final.”

The Taça de Portugal ‘saving’ the season
“I don't look at things that way. Sporting CP have to compete for trophies until the end, and we have done that. We’ll analyse the season when it’s over, to understand where we failed and what we can improve. Now, it's not about saving anything, but about being in the final of a trophy that, fortunately, we won last season. We want to have the opportunity to defend it; it depends on us.”