December 20th 2024.
In a surprising turn of events, Ruben Amorim, former coach of Sporting CP, left the team to join Manchester United in November. This came as a shock to many, including Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas, who labeled Amorim's departure as a "poisoned gift" for the team.
Amorim, who had led Sporting CP to their first Portuguese league title earlier in the year, was set to continue his successful tenure with the club. However, when the opportunity to replace Erik ten Hag as the manager of Manchester United arose, Amorim couldn't resist. He had asked to stay with Sporting CP for the remainder of the season, but United rejected his request and pushed for his immediate arrival from Portugal.
This left Sporting CP in a difficult position, as they had to quickly find a replacement for Amorim. They turned to Joao Pereira, who was brought up from the club's B team to take over as head coach. However, Pereira has struggled in his new role, with four losses in his first seven games.
Varandas acknowledges that Sporting CP was put in a unique and challenging situation due to Amorim's sudden exit in the middle of the season. He even went as far as calling the decision to appoint Pereira as "the most ungrateful invitation." At the Stromp Awards gala, Varandas spoke openly about the current situation, acknowledging the successes of the past year but also the difficulties faced in the present.
He explained that Amorim had informed the team at the end of last season that he wanted to end his coaching cycle with Sporting CP after winning a second championship. The club had prepared for this and had a plan in place for the future. However, everything changed when a big European club came knocking, and Amorim accepted the offer. This threw a wrench in their plans and left Sporting CP scrambling to find a replacement.
Varandas also pointed out the unprecedented nature of this situation, as it's the first time in Portugal's history that a coach has left a team in the middle of a season due to success. He acknowledged that replacing a coach with such a successful record was never going to be an easy task. They had the option to bring in someone from outside, but with the team's busy schedule, there wouldn't be enough time for that coach to train with the players.
In the end, they decided to promote Joao Pereira, despite knowing the challenges he would face. Varandas explains that the team didn't want things to happen this way, and Pereira, as well as the club, didn't want to be put in this position. But ultimately, the decision was made in the best interest of Sporting CP.
Varandas ended his speech by stating that he will always do what he believes is best for the team, even if it means sacrificing a coach, player, manager, or even himself. He also expressed his gratitude to Amorim for his contributions to Sporting CP and described the situation as "the most ungrateful invitation and the most poisoned gift" for a coach.
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