Author: Pedro Galindo

 

 

On a Sunday that was far-too-cold and cloudy for Lisbon in the spring, all Sporting fans had their eyes fixed 349km up north.

That was where their fierce rivals Benfica were making their last push to keep their domestic trophy chase alive, facing Famalicão at their ground in the last fixture of the 32nd round. Being eight points behind Sporting with 3 matches to go, the Reds had their self-belief again put to test, as the Lions sealing the title seemed like only a mere formality, a matter of time. And when the home team opened the score, with barely 20 minutes to be played, it simply started to feel real. Very real.

Back to Lisbon, this was when the first chants started erupting all around the city. By the time Youssef bagged the second for Famalicão, the streets and metro stations were already filled with people proudly wearing green, and heading towards the Marquês de Pombal square. And when the referee blew the full time whistle, for Sporting fans, it meant that the party was set. It was finally time to celebrate – something which these fans have become increasingly accustomed to in the recent years.

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Twelve months earlier, though, this ending to the season didn’t look so likely. Following a struggling campaign in which they saw Benfica dominate domestic football, Sporting had several questions in need of an answer. Having lost many players that were key to the 20/21 Portuguese title, it looked like the club was approaching the end of a cycle. They had become a more predictable team. A clear lack of assertiveness up front was overloading the defensive end. Countless wasted opportunities, that led to more silly mistakes being made at the back, given the increased pressure. Multiple important results thrown away, throughout what ended up being a somewhat disappointing season – even if there were a few sparks of joy, like winning the penalty shootout against Arsenal in North London.

In the last 20 years, it would have been just another normal, trophyless season for Sporting. But not for Amorim’s Sporting.

Widely regarded as one of the most promising coaches in European football for some time, Rúben Amorim’s future was already subject of speculation back then. But his high release clause seemed enough to scare off suitors and hold any move back, whereas the manager himself had never showed signs of wanting any move away from the Alvalade stadium. So as the rumors cooled off, the most pressing issue to the Sporting board became to ensure the club would display the same level of ambition as their coach. And that had everything to do with signing forward Viktor Gyökeres.

From the start of the summer transfer window, it was clear that the Swede was Sporting’s key target. Reports claim that the Lions had scouts watching him in action for Coventry City in “around 30” different occasions, before making him the club’s record signing at € 21m. To achieve his number-one priority, Amorim had to showcase what many say is his “superpower”: his communication skills, and how he gets people on board with his ideas. He saw in Gyökeres the exact type of striker he needed to revitalise his team, and did his best to convince both the board, to open the vault, and the player, who had more lucrative offers on his table, even from the Premier League. But the Sporting manager was able to seduce the player and his entourage with a project that would have him under the brightest possible spotlight, favoured by the team’s style of play.

“Many people keep asking me why I brought Viktor to Sporting. He came for one reason: I only brought him to Sporting because of Rúben Amorim. And I said that to him when I saw him for the first time, before saying hello. I follow Rúben since he managed Braga. I also know his philosofy at Sporting and how he could take Viktor to the next level. That was more important to me than taking him to the Premier League and making more money. Most people told me I was being stupid.”

HASAN ÇETINKAYA, Gyökeres’ agent

Looking in retrospect, it might have even been an undersell.

“He is a forward that, in addition to goals, and you [reporters] know I don’t care that much about goals […], the truth is that we can now play lower. And now, we are able to have a forward that makes plays on his own, in transition, which we didn’t have. We needed to take the ball forward, and we no longer do. We are more threatening, having a forward with a different skillset, and therefore more complete”, Amorim said about his new addition right after his arrival, last August, in a press conference. A few weeks later, he spoke about the player’s desire to play in the Alvalade. “He really wished to come to Sporting. We saw the offers he had. He understood the project, he is a very ambitious player. Maybe the clubs that approached him were not the clubs he would like to join, in a Premier League”.

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As a man known for being “rather clear and simple” with his instructions, it seems that every bit of what the 39-year-old coach envisioned for Gyökeres and his role has become not only real, but routine. A very happy one for the club’s supporters, who got used to seeing the Swede tear defenses through with his deep runs, clever movement and, of course, his goals – which Amorim might not care that much for, but has certainly enjoyed. From the fairly unknown striker with 40 goals in two seasons in the Championship, Gyökeres has turned into one of the deadliest strikers in European football, with 27 league goals out of 21.37 xG (Expected Goals) in 31 matches played, scoring every 101 minutes while also creating 10 assists out of 5.85 xA (Expected Assists). Considering all competitions, his count raises to 41 goals and 15 assists in 47 appearances.

These individual numbers don’t leave room for doubts about his impact. But it certainly goes further beyond them. His clinical finishing and his smart runs – the Swede ranks in the top 1% in Progressive Carries and Progressive Passes Received among strikers playing in the top five European leagues – have allowed the defense to play lower and tighter, just as Amorim planned. As a matter of fact, Sporting has become a defensive juggernaut this season, with 0.69 Non-Penalty Expected Goals Conceded per 90 minutes – simply the best rate across Europe’s top seven leagues.

Such rock at the heart of the defense, added to the verticality and aggressiveness provided by the likes of Nuno Santos, Geny Catamo, Pedro Gonçalves, Marcus Edwards and, of course, Gyökeres, turned Amorim’s structured 3-4-2-1 formation into a relentlessly efficient transitional machine spearheaded by the former Coventry man, scoring 92 league goals out of 70 xG and 136 across all competitions (so far).

Rapidly, the € 21m paid to bring him in started looking like a bargain. In fact, it was reported that Sporting was enquired by Chelsea about the striker, as well as defender Ousmane Diomandé’s, during the winter transfer window, but the club was not willing to do business. He stayed, and cemented himself as the main man of a memorable season for the club. In just a few months, Gyökeres gained legendary status among the club fanbase, a charismatic hero with a trademark celebration.

His development within the club follows a pattern already seen with other signings made by Amorim. Sure, there were misses. But many of the players he brought in, since taking charge in March 2020, have not only helped the cause, turning Sporting into this dynamic side, but have done so while also having their potential untapped and their careers, propelled. This list includes a number of current players, such as Edwards, Hidemasa Morita or Morten Hjulmand – another courageous signing that costed € 19.5m, but seamlessly fit into the midfield alongside the Japanese, himself a € 4m signing from Azorian side Santa Clara a year ago. The list goes on with the likes of Manuel Ugarte, João Palhinha and Pedro Porro, all of them developed into top players in European football.

unlocking value: players have looked like their best version at amorim’s sporting

Player name	Age when joined Sporting	Estimated value	Est. value post-Amorim	Added value
Morten Hjulmand	24	€ 24m	€ 30m	25% in 12 months
Ousmane Diomandé	19	€ 4m	€ 40m	1000% in 6 months
Pedro Porro	21	€ 9m	€ 35m	389% n 30 months
Hidemasa Morita	27	€ 7m	€ 13m	186% in 6 months
João Palhinha	25	€ 9m	€ 35m	389% in 30 months
Geny Catamo	22	€ 1.5m	€ 8m	533% in 12 months
Manuel Ugarte	20	€ 6m	€ 55m	916% in 24 months
Viktor Gyökeres	24	€ 32m	€ 55m	172% in 12 months

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Speaking of the Premier League – and patterns…

His agent has recently stated that it would be “more difficult for Gyökeres to stay” if Amorim was to leave – which he won’t, as it is now known. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Swede would now stay too, but at least implies that the odds of him sticking around for another season may be higher with than without the manager, who convinced him to come to Lisbon in the first place. Surely, it is hard to deny the appeal of having a second year with a manager he fully trusts, now playing in the Champions League as the reigning Portuguese champions, and going for a back-to-back title, something Sporting has not been able to accomplish since 1952.

But the prospect of an indecently higher wage to play for a club at the very top of the Premier League could be similarly real, and considerably more appealing. So if a rich enough club shows up willing to pay the striker’s release clause, estimated to be worth € 100m, there won’t be much Sporting can do if he decides it’s time to test himself at the highest level. When asked about his future, during the title celebration party, he was slightly cryptic: “I love being here. It’s been fantastic. Let’s see what will happen. This is football, I can’t promise anything. But I’m under contract with Sporting and I really love being here. Things happen really fast in footbal and we have to adapt.”

Gyökeres is not the only Sporting player who is attracting interest from other wealthier clubs. Similarly, defenders Gonçalo Inácio and Ousmane Diomandé have reportedly been scouted by several top European clubs, as well as Tottenham Hotspur academy product Edwards, who has long been followed by Premier League sides. Losing key players is nothing new to Sporting, and the club academy is always capable of providing quality additions to the first team. Also, the club scouts have been nailing it in most of the recent transfers, so with the potentially hefty transfer fees received, other smart deals could be done. But if Gyökeres, a 25-year-old, one-man-fastbreak forward trending up towards the peak of his powers, is really to leave, then he might be one rather hard to replace.

As for Amorim, his journey at the Alvalade looks set for another chapter. “They said we would only win the championship in another 18 years. They said we only won it because there were no fans [due to the pandemic, in 2021]. They say we will never be back-to-back champions again. We’ll see”, he said during the title celebrations, before dropping the mic in an instant iconic moment. There’s still one last challenge this season, though: the Cup final to be played against Porto at the Jamor National Stadium, in which Sporting could accomplish a “double” for the seventh time in club history, 22 years after the last one.

Next season, he will have another shot at a task he failed two years ago: defending the title, while also trying a deeper run in the Champions League. And this time, there will be even more hype and expectations. If manages to achieve another successful season in these even higher standards, and reclaim the domestic crown, he will become only the second coach in Sporting’s history to win it three times – and he will be only 40 by then. Whether he will have his Swedish goal machine back, or not… well, that remains to be seen.