Sporting CP coach before vs Arsenal: both Mercedes and Peugeot can reach 200km/h

On April 15th, Sporting CP will visit Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final. Before the game, Sporting CP head coach Rui Borges attended the press conference to answer the reporters' questions.

In the first half of the conference, Borges said that the whole team is very confident of advancing. He said: "Rather than saying that I want to deliberately remind them of the importance of the game, it is that they take for granted. They know this very well and do not need the coach to emphasize it all the time. I don't even have to say much. They know what game they are playing tomorrow. I look into their eyes and I can see their desire for this game. I can see that they believe the team can advance to the semi-finals. Football and life will give opportunities to those who believe, and if there is a team that believes, it is us." Therefore, the reporter continued to ask about the "team confidence", and then Borges made the following "famous quote" about "Mercedes and Peugeot."

Arsenal are also a confident team, and their individual abilities may be stronger than Sporting CP. What makes you so sure? Do you think this might be the most important game of your career or even in the history of Sporting CP?

For me, this is just an important game, every game is. Every game has its own story and its own importance. We are in a competition that everyone dreams of participating in, and I am no exception as a coach. As for the players, this game will be etched in each of our careers. The first is the history of Sporting CP, which is what we are pursuing - to continue writing the history of Sporting CP. This team deserves such recognition, deserves to leave a mark in the history of the team like the great legends of Sporting CP. I say this from the bottom of my heart, this is how I feel. And this is said to the players, not to the coach, the key is our belief. The value of players is subjective. A Mercedes can run 200 kilometers per hour, and a Peugeot can too, but the value of a Mercedes is twice that of a Peugeot. The key is to be familiar with the shortcuts and roads, and to know how to drive and be the first to arrive. I did some advertising here (for Mercedes) ... (laughs).

If Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard are indeed unable to play, would you, as the coach of Sporting CP, breathe a sigh of relief?

Arsenal have three top players in some positions, not two. It doesn't make sense to me to say that. Regarding set pieces, we are talking about a strong team, but they haven't been able to score from set pieces for several games. Of course, they are the team with the most set-piece goals in Europe, which does not affect their strength. It's not that their tactical arrangements are so ingenious, but 10 out of 10 times they can accurately send the ball to the position designated by the coach, and there are six or seven players lurking in the penalty area, and these players are in excellent physical condition. Set pieces are essentially a confrontation, which makes them very strong in this regard. Whoever plays is extremely threatening at that moment. I always try my best to develop the potential of my players, and we have always performed very well in set pieces on both offense and defense. I am very confident in the team's ability.

In England, people are talking about the Arsenal vs. Manchester City game. Is this also a benefit for Sporting CP? You have to choose between Vagiannidis and Quaresma to start at right back. What can each of them bring?

Don't worry, we, like Arsenal, have three (top players) in each position, including Brolopa. (Against Manchester City) that's Arsenal's problem, we only focus on this game, please don't disturb us. We pay more attention to what we can do, and it doesn't matter to us whether the outside world pays attention to Arsenal vs. Manchester City. We know that this game requires a lot from us, and we have another important game coming up, but now we are focusing on Arsenal. We want to play well and win this game. We know it's difficult, but we hope we can stick to it until the end. I believe we can make a strong response and play a wonderful game.

Regarding the full-backs, they are players with different styles. Edu (Quaresma's nickname) can bring us some qualities... but I don't plan to analyze their characteristics specifically here, but they are indeed three players with different styles. Vagiannidis is a pure full-back who is good at attacking; Edu is not from a traditional full-back background, but he is quite capable; and Brolopa brings us speed, intensity and competitiveness. Everyone can play.

One of Sporting CP's advantages is counter-attacking. How important will this be in tomorrow's game?

I don't think Sporting CP is only good at counter-attacking, and the first leg of the game proved this well. Our ball possession rate is actually quite balanced with Arsenal. In fact, Sporting CP likes to control the game through ball possession, which is what we will try to do. But of course, we know that there may be more opportunities like this (counter-attacking) in this type of game, and we must seize these opportunities. In this type of game, there are not many opportunities for counter-attacking, as the first leg of the game proved. We even created more opportunities, but ended up losing. We know that tomorrow we must maintain excellent balance in every stage of the game. Set pieces, attacking moments, defensive moments, and moments of offense and defense transition. We are a balanced team, we must know how to seize every moment, and we also know the importance of every moment, especially in an important game like tomorrow.

Did you (just) say that Sporting CP is Peugeot and Arsenal is Mercedes?

I mean the squad value. I said Arsenal's squad value is higher. It's just that the fastest car doesn't always beat the weaker brand. If both are driving at 200 kilometers per hour, the key is the route. Mercedes may stop at a gas station, but we won't stop, we will continue forward. The value of the team does not determine the victory or defeat, what determines the victory or defeat is the level of investment and the level of rigor in treating the game. Of course, the individual and overall strength of each team will also be revealed, but in this regard, both teams are strong. Which team is more invested and more rigorous will win this round. The game at Alvalade was fierce and evenly matched, and we also had opportunities. I hope we will be luckier tomorrow.