The Sporting CP captain was one of the standouts in 2020/21

Sebastián Coates has been chosen in the Team Of The Season for the 2020/21 Liga NOS season, it was announced this past Sunday by the league's governing body. The Sporting Clube de Portugal defender came out on top in the voting carried out amongst coaches and captains of the top flight sides from the campaign.

At the age of 30, Coates captained the team to their first national title in 19 years, and was almost an ever-present in the season, playing 33 of the 34 Liga NOS matches. Along the way, he won the Man Of The Match award on three occasions.

The defender was magnificent throughout the year, as a crucial component of the side that conceded the fewest goals. Sporting CP would ship just 20 over the course of the season, whilst Coates would also contribute goals of his own: He found the net on five occasions, including some late winners and equalisers.

A three-time winner of the Defender of the Month award, he was also named Liga NOS Player of the Month for April.

Coates joins teammates Antonio Adán and Pedro Porro in the league's Team Of The Season.

Liga NOS honour the Spanish defender for his performances

Pedro Porro has been included in Liga NOS' Team Of The Season for 2020/21, in recognition of a breakout season for the young Spaniard.

The Sporting Clube de Portugal player was chosen in the voting by coaches and captains of every side in the Portuguese top flight. His inclusion was announced this past Saturday.

In his first season at the club, Porro had an immediate impact and became a mainstay on the right of the defence, playing 30 Liga NOS games and winning two Man Of The Match awards. He also contributed three goals and four assists.

Strong performances throughout the season allowed Porro to be called up for the Spanish national team, earning his first cap for 'La Roja.'

After having being named Defender of the Month in the league three times, Pedro Porro is now awarded the right back a spot in the Team Of The Season.

Mendes, Palhinha and Gonçalves receive Euro 2020 call-ups

Sporting Clube de Portugal will provide three players for the Portuguese national team in this summer's European Championship tournament, scheduled to get underway in June.

Nuno Mendes, João Palhinha and Pedro Gonçalves are the three members of Os Leões named on the 26-man squad list, announced by coach Fernando Santos on Thursday.

Mendes and Palhinha retain places in the squad, whilst Pedro Gonçalves receives a first senior call-up. He recently finished the Liga NOS season as top goalscorer in the competition.

Portugal are part of Group F in Euro 2020, and will face Hungary (June 15th), Germany (June 19th) and France (June 23rd) in their defence of their title.

The Sporting CP coach summed up a great 2020/21 season

At the end of the 5-1 victory against CS Marítimo that concluded Sporting Clube de Portugal's season, coach Rúben Amorim analysed the game and the 2020/2021 season for his team of champions.

"It was a game that we wanted to win. We wanted to sign off with a good showing after the defeat in the previous game. Pedro Gonçalves won the award for top scorer and João Pereira ended his career on the pitch. He had an excellent career and gave us a lot. We ended things in the best way," he told journalists at the Auditorio Artur Agostinho.

After guaranteeing that "next season has been planned for some time" and that Sporting CP "have a clear idea of what they want", Amorim commented on the possibility of some of his players being called up by Portugal coach Fernando Santos for the European Championships this summer, starting with Pedro Gonçalves.

"He deserves to be in there and so do others at Sporting CP. The choice is up to the coach, who will choose well. If Sporting CP players are picked, I will be very happy. If they are not picked, I will also be happy, because they will have great careers and won't be worn out."

Looking ahead to 2021/2022, the coach defined the first objective for his squad: to win the Supertaça.

"There is the Supertaça to win and from there we will go game-by-game, again. We will not have as much time to prepare for our games next season. We will have difficult competitions to play in. I don't want to set big goals for us. We will want to win every game. We are candidates to win the Supertaça and we will work with that in mind first."

"It is important to maintain our unity because it is one of the great strengths of Sporting CP, but we know that it comes from winning. There are three possible results that you can have. Everyone has to think that the team as a whole is the most important thing and we will pay a lot of attention to who we bring in to identify with this idea. They have to believe that they can be starters and if that happens the whole team will be motivated", he added.

Going back to João Pereira, Amorim wished success to his former teammate and player in his future endeavours.

"It was special to witness the end of his career, because I have known João since I was a kid. I played with him at junior level, we had holidays together and our families know each other well. It was strange to have João Pereira call me 'coach' and speak to me formally."

"He will not be part of my coaching staff. He will forge his own career and he will find his own coaching staff. I already have my team. He will follow his own path and we are here to help him in this transition, which is difficult. We will help João with his new life and he will be very happy."

Finally, Amorim was asked to choose three words to define the campaign.

"Effort, Dedication and Devotion, and then the fourth, which is Glory. The team are the manifestation of those words. I thank my players and the staff, who did an incredible job. In a month's time it will start all over again, and no one will be thinking about this title. I think that's a good thing; it's the way that things are at a big club."

The defender enjoys his final minutes in the game against CS Marítimo

The end of the 2020/21 season coincided with the end of the playing career of João Pereira, who made his final appearance playing 59 minutes at the Estádio José Alvalade against CS Marítimo.

The 37-year-old right back calls time on his playing days after a career that included three spells at Sporting CP: 2010-2012, 2015-17, and a final four-month stint when he rejoined the club from Turkish side Trabzonspor in February of this season.

In total, Pereira made 154 official appearances for Os Leões, as well as representing SL Benfica, Gil Vicente FC and SC Braga in Portugal, Valencia CF in Spain, Hannover 96 in Germany and Trabzonspor from 2017-2020. He also earned 40 caps for the Portuguese national team.

"I have to thank Sportinguistas for everything they gave me. It's a pleasure to play for this club. Unfortunately, I didn't win as many titles as I would like to, but I have finished my career in the best way possible," he told Sporting TV after the final whistle, as he received an homage on the pitch from his teammates.

​

Os Leões beat CS Marítimo 5-1 on Matchday 34

Sporting Clube de Portugal's spectacular 2020/21 season came to a close on Wednesday night at the Estádio José Alvalade, where they beat CS Marítimo 5-1 in another outstanding performance. The night could scarcely have been better: a comprehensive victory, the league's top goalscorer award going to Pedro Gonçalves and André Paulo and Tomás Silva making the respective appearances required to receive Liga NOS winners medals.

For the final game of the campaign, Sporting CP changed up the starting XI: Luís Maximiano, Luís Neto, Vitorino Antunes and Jovane Cabral took the places of Antonio Adán, Gonçalo Inácio, Nuno Mendes and Nuno Santos, respectively, and Tiago Tomás, returning from injury, was back on the bench. After João Pereira had taken the captain's armband on the previous matchday, this time around it was Antunes' turn to skipper the team.

Present on the pitch before the game were the Liga NOS and Taça da Liga trophies won by Sporting CP this season - a physical representation of a year that will go down in club history.

The team were not holding back when the game began, and just two minutes had elapsed when Antunes struck a rocket of a shot against the CS Marítimo bar. Shortly after, in the seventh minute, the opening goal arrived: Antunes set Jovane Cabral free down the left and he, in turn, served up a ball to Pedro Gonçalves in the heart of the box to finish.

Following a Paulinho shot wide, two rapidfire goals came the home side's way. The first was, once again, from Pedro Gonçalves (making him Liga NOS' outright top scorer), as he got to the rebound off a strike off the post by Daniel Bragança. The second, just moments later, came about after a mixup for the opposition: Karo played back for goalkeeper Charles, who missed the ball and it ran on into the net, putting Sporting CP 3-0 up.

Paulinho had another opportunity to score in the first half, but Charles was able to block, whilst the visitors had a goal rightly ruled out for offside.

Coach Rúben Amorim brought on João Palhinha for the second half, taking off Daniel Bragança, whilst in the 59th minute there was an emotional moment for all involved: João Pereira was subbed off amidst a round of applause, as the right back concluded the final game of his career.

Half an hour from time, off a stellar assist from Jovane Cabral, Pedro Gonçalves rounded off his hat-trick and grabbed his 23rd goal in Liga NOS this term, taking the score to 4-0.

There was time for two debuts as well, as Luís Maximiano and Matheus Nunes made way for goalkeeper André Paulo and midfielder Tomás Silva. Their participation meant that they were officially classed as league winners, and were rewarded for the help they have provided for the first team this season in training.

Another mistake by Charles left the ball for Gonzalo Plata to score Sporting CP's final goal of the season, and whilst Beltrame would get a consolation goal before the end, Sporting CP ran out 5-1 winners in a brilliant end to the campaign.

Sporting CP: Luís Maximiano [GK] (André Paulo [GK], 66'), Luís Neto, Sebastián Coates, Matheus Reis, João Pereira (Gonzalo Plata, 59'), Matheus Nunes (Tomás Silva, 66'), Daniel Bragança (João Palhinha, 45'), Vitorino Antunes [C], Pedro Gonçalves, Jovane Cabral and Paulinho (Tiago Tomás, 76').

The coach's reaction to the Liga NOS title win

The man who led Sporting CP to their first Liga NOS title in 19 seasons, Rúben Amorim, donned the club shirt for his post-match press conference following the 1-0 win against Boavista FC that confirmed the league was theirs. He was not alone in the press room at the Estádio José Alvalade, however: His coaching staff were alongside him, with Amorim's reasoning being that "When you win, everyone should be here."

The coach began by saying that "The journey is still ongoing," with two games still remaining.

"It has been a good season, but now we have to finish it off. I thank the Sportinguistas for their support. We have to focus and stick together, people have no idea of the club that we are when everyone is united."

Sporting CP did not start the campaign as title favourites, and Amorim acknowledged that it was only late on that they began to see it as a possibility.

"Towards the end of the season we started to have the notion that we could do it, and started doing the maths. However, in the moment that we became more relaxed we began to drop points -and from there everything changed. We felt some doubts about the team, but we turned things around. Congratulations to the players, the coaching staff and the club, because we were able to handle the difficult times."

In addition, he noted the motivational factor that a lack of belief from others provided.

"Every time that people doubted us in public, I showed it to the players, it helped us a lot to motivate the team, so these criticisms were actually part of this success."

"The bond between them and the connection between the young players and the veterans was key to our success. We had a very compact structure, a Sporting Director who knows me well, a close connection with the coaching staff. This is a great club and everything went well."

"They are very happy players; here and there they felt their inexperience, and that even happened in today's game -with the way we played and when the final whistle started to approach, the team's nervousness was very noticeable. That youth also took a lot of pressure off us at more difficult moments, however. It was part of the season, but it was a very important factor in our achievement."

The coach -in his first full season in a dugout- will now get a chance to guide Sporting CP in Europe's top club competition. He intends to stick around for the challenge.

"Next year there is the Champions League. We have a path to follow, but if this year was one of suffering, the next one will be even more -but we will be prepared for that. I will coach Sporting CP. I have a contract, I am very happy here and I will continue here," he promised.

The press room was invaded by several members of the squad, who doused their coach in water and celebrated with him at the end of a memorable night.

A 1-0 triumph earns the team the title

Some 19 years since their last league title, and for the 23rd time in club history, Sporting Clube de Portugal are Liga NOS champions. The team beat Boavista FC 1-0 on Matchday 32 of the Liga NOS season, mathematically guaranteeing the title thanks to a win that came from a first half goal from Paulinho.

With a fantastic atmosphere in the vicinity of the Estádio José Alvalade in the buildup to the game, Sporting CP came out motivated to seal the title. Coach Rúben Amorim made one change to his starting XI, bringing in Pedro Porro.

Boavista FC managed a corner in the opening minutes and played with a high line, but Sporting CP were always in control. They could have scored in the fifth minute, when Nuno Santos struck from distance against the post, and it proved to be the first of many attempts by Os Leoes.

In the 11th minute, another good look on goal came from a Nuno Mendes corner, headed just wide by Paulinho. Shortly afterwards, Porro served a perfect ball for Pedro Gonçalves, who could not get a shot off on that occasion or when just inches away from a Mendes ball.

Unfortunately, Porro’s participation came to an early end in the 17^th minute, when he was taken off in tears due to an injury. Replacing the Spaniard for the remainder of the game was João Pereira.

The onslaught continued, however, and Nuno Santos set up Mendes for a hard strike that again came close. A Gonçalo Inácio header from a corner at the first post was close as well, as Sporting CP were relentless in pursuit of the opener.

It finally came when João Mário released Nuno Santos, who appeared on the left and placed the ball into the heart of the box. There, Paulinho successfully finished off the chance, made it 1-0 and took his team one step closer to the title -to the delight of the fans waiting outside the stadium and the fans and players within it.

Before the break, Sebastián Coates had a header saved by Léo Jardim and Boavista FC had their first and only chance of the opening half when their player Nuno Santos forced a stop by Antonio Adán.

Almost nothing changed in the second half, as Sporting CP remained the dominant force and created several opportunities. The first was just after 47 minutes, when Nuno Mendes crossed for Paulinho to shoot and Léo Jardim again intervened. A defender kept out an effort by Paulinho soon after, from a chance fashioned by Gonçalves.

After Paulinho missed a header off a João Pereira cross, the game settled down, until a series of late attacks following the introduction of Matheus Nunes: First Pedro Gonçalves hit the post, and then Matheus Nunes tried to serve up an assist, but a defender deflected towards his own goal and Léo Jardim kept it out again. To finish off, Paulinho shot over after a setup by Pedro Gonçalves.

In the final ten minutes, Matheus Reis, Daniel Bragança and Jovane Cabral replaced Nuno Mendes, João Mário and Pedro Gonçalves, respectively, and on the final whistle the long wait came to an end: Sporting CP were crowned champions of Liga NOS, rewarding a brilliant season.

Sporting CP: Antonio Adán [GK], Gonçalo Inácio, Sebastián Coates [C], Zouhair Feddal, Pedro Porro (João Pereira, 17 '), João Palhinha, João Mário (Daniel Bragança, 82'), Nuno Mendes (Matheus Reis, 82 '), Pedro Gonçalves (Jovane Cabral, 82'), Nuno Santos (Matheus Nunes, 76 ') and Paulinho.

Sporting CP win a 23rd Portuguese league title

A game against Boavista FC awaits Sporting CP on Tuesday

Sunday saw the Sporting Clube de Portugal squad take part in another training session at the Academia Sporting in Alcochete, preparing for their upcoming midweek game. The team will be in action at the Estádio José Alvalade against Boavista FC on Tuesday at 8:30 pm, with the chance to be crowned Liga NOS champions with a win.

Pedro Porro undertook conditioning work on the pitch, whilst Tiago Tomás and Bruno Tabata continued undergoing treatment.

Os Leões will train again on Monday at 10am, followed by a press conference with Rúben Amorim at 6:30pm in the Auditório Artur Agostinho.