Three league titles in 25 years. Was this the most savoury?
"I think it was all three. Winning for Sporting is always tasty, I'm not going to choose which was the tastiest. I think I'll choose all three."
It's been 12 years since you left Almeirim for the Academy. In your wildest dreams, did you think that by the age of 25 you'd have these three league titles in your pocket?
"It was a dream ever since I was a child. My grandparents and parents used to take me to the Alvalade Stadium to watch Sporting - that was already a childhood dream, to see Sporting champions. And the truth is that Sporting became champions when I was in the first team. If dreaming is good, achieving it is even better.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that Sporting would only be champions when I was in the first team, but the truth is that this was the reality. I'm happy for all the effort my grandparents and parents made to get me to the Jose Alvalade Stadium. I never got to celebrate - I celebrated Cups, League Cups - but I never celebrated a championship as a fan. Nowadays, I celebrate as a player and as a fan."
It was a championship with many incidents, but it was also characterised by Sporting's consistency. Only two defeats in the whole championship and seven draws. Were Sporting the most consistent team in one of the closest championships in recent years?
"Yes, from what I remember, I think it was one of the closest championships in Portugal. It wasn't decided until the last matchday and two teams could still be champions. Of course, it could have gone either way at this stage, but if there was to be a fair champion, I think it would have been - and it was - us. We've been in front a lot more times, always in first place, and I think we were fair winners."
'Ruben Amorim changed Sporting's life'
Sporting were champions with three managers in one season, as well as plenty of problems midway through. How did you live through those moments?
"It was difficult. In fact, it was impossible to start better than we did: 11 consecutive wins in 11 games. Then, with the departure of the manager, things started to shake up a bit, we lost two games, we were a bit suspicious of ourselves, but we managed to hold on and keep going. The truth is that things started to look up again and we became champions."
Some say that if Ruben Amorim had stayed, you would have been champions sooner. Did you talk about that inside or not?
"It's impossible to say anything like that. We don't know what could happen or not, whether we'd be able to keep up the pace or not. We'll never know. But the truth is that, whatever happened, we managed to win the championship. Sometimes teams are left without a manager because things are going badly. I don't often remember teams being left without a manager in the middle of the season because things were going so well.
"Sometimes, when things are going badly, another coach comes in and things start to go better. It was different here: it was a different shock. We lost a coach who had been here for five seasons, who had changed the history and life of Sporting. It was a shock for us. We accepted it and understood.
"Just as there are players who stand out and leave in January - and sometimes it's difficult to keep them here - coach Ruben Amorim was doing an excellent job at Sporting, he was highly coveted, not for the first time, and he ended up leaving. That's football. It was a shock, but the group took it well. Things happened and it had to be that way."
Daniel Braganca during the title celebrationsSporting CP
Then Joao Pereira came in, but he didn't stay long, and Rui Borges arrived, who is said to have a very strong leadership ability, to unite the squad. Is that when you felt that the click that would allow you to become champions?
"Yes, I agree. After Mr. Ruben left, I don't think it was so much because of Mr. Joao Pereira, it was more the group, the shock. We were a bit disorientated, unsure of what was going on, with doubts about what it would be like without the manager. The truth is that, after so many important departures in the squad - like Seba (Coates), Paulinho and Adan, who were captains - Neto too... the squad shook a little. And Amorim, at the start of the year, played the role of coach and captain. We never missed that until he left.
"When he leaves, the team shakes and we have to push ourselves more. Morten (Hjulmand) was important in that. I don't think it was so much because of Joao Pereira that things started to go wrong, I think it was our psychological state that got the better of us. When the team isn't doing well, it snowballs. I remember injury after injury, then players wanting to come back because they felt the team needed it, and then coming back from injury earlier than expected and getting injured again. It all started to snowball.
"But the truth is that when Rui Borges arrived, he brought us the calm, serenity and confidence that the group needed at that moment. He arrived at the right time. He didn't have an easy time of it - injuries continued - and then, when the snowball starts, it's hard to clear everything up at once.
"Although he didn't have an easy role, he managed to overcome all the difficulties he had when he landed here and he has a lot to his credit in this championship. He turned up at the right time, when the team needed him most, and things went very well because he did his job very well and he deserves a lot of credit for this achievement."
He also knew how to adapt the team's playing model to the players he had. That's also a sign of the coach's intelligence.
"Yes, he brought his idea, that's normal, but he realised that he had little time to train and explain it. The group was already so used to that tactic, we played with our eyes closed, and I think he realised that he couldn't change everything. It was clever of him and it worked out well, winning the championship."
'Pote's goal unlocked the anxiety in the stadium'
Let me focus on two moments: Eduardo Quaresma's goal against Gil Vicente. How did you experience that?
"I swept the whole box in front of me. Those of us on the sidelines suffered three times as much, there's no comparison. It was the first time I'd been away fighting for the championship and the anxiety and pressure are greater. You suffer three times as much, and I'm being gentle. It was unforgettable.
"I think Edu gave me my life back at that moment. I didn't really believe it, but there are players who are born for these moments and he didn't even know he was born for this one. The truth is that he was born and he gave me my life back."
What about Pedro Goncalves' goal in the last game? He came along at an important stage in his career, after an injury, and scored a goal that I wouldn't say was decisive, but opened the door to the title.
"Yes, it's history in the making. Some things are already written, as he said. I kept saying that his goal was saved for Luz, that it was going to be the goal of the championship. The truth is that I was wrong about the stadium, because the goal that won the league was in Alvalade, against Vitoria SC.
"It unlocked the anxiety in the stadium and it was a goal to remember forever. I cheered with all my might. I'm happy for these two players who came on at decisive moments in the season."
Despite injury, you still played in 29 games in all competitions, scored four goals and made nine assists. Do you feel you were on your way to one of your best seasons in the first team? At least the figures indicate that. What can we expect from Daniel Braganca next season? To continue these figures? Improve them?
"It's difficult to promise things at this stage. I've been through a serious injury, I know what it's like and how long it takes to get back to full fitness, but the truth is that having been through one and managed to come back at a good level, it gives me the ambition, belief and strength to come back even better.
"We were having an excellent team season and I, individually, was also going through a good moment, not just in terms of numbers. The season was going well for me, but then this injury happened. I'm not going to promise anything, I can only promise ambition, belief and the strength to come back even stronger than the first time."
Braganca's recent statsFlashscore
'Sporting are on the right track to keep winning'
The president and the players are already raising three fingers, thinking about a potential treble next season. Given the current state of Portuguese football and Sporting's recent past, do you believe that this is the right path for Sporting to return to regular winning ways?
"Yes, we're on the right track. The three fingers thing isn't about the "tri", it's only for those who have already won three championships. But yes, Sporting is on the right track to keep winning. It's not the Sporting I knew a few years ago, structurally it's different, a lot has changed and it's evolved in the right way and I hope it continues to do so because this is the Sporting I've always dreamed of and that I want to see again."
A Sporting that's in the Champions League again, with a completely different model. Is the ambition also to do better than last season?
"Step by step, yes. We were having an excellent campaign, then with everything we've talked about things changed a little and we still won a place in the playoff with Dortmund, but we ended up losing, but step by step.
"We have to start looking at the Champions League with different eyes, with the ambition of wanting to go further and that's the path Sporting has to take - to keep winning domestically and to show more and more strength in Europe. The mindset has to change a little, it has to evolve and we're moving towards that. Time will tell, but with the people who work here and the players we have, I think we're on the right track."
Do you hope, as a first-team player, to keep the bulk of the squad? There are strong conversations about Gyokeres leaving, which may be inevitable.
"When you win, it's difficult, there's a lot of greed around the players and it's hard to keep all the best players, but that's the reality, unfortunately or fortunately, I don't know. We have to be able to deal with possible departures.
"In other years, we've shown that even when someone leaves, we can always bring in someone better or equal and still win. Whatever happens, the important thing is that Sporting does well and remains competitive."
Do you believe in the structure that is preparing for every eventuality?
"Yes, the years have taught me a lot. A lot of players, coaches and presidents move on, that's always going to happen, but there's only one Sporting and it's Sporting that those who are here have to look after. The most important thing is for Sporting to win.
"Coaches, players, managers, staff, they will move on, it's part of life and part of football. The important thing is that Sporting is healthy, competitive and fighting for titles. That's what makes me happiest and that's what Sporting must continue to do."
'We really want to add the Portuguese Cup to our CV'
The season isn't over, there's still a cup final to play for.
"Yes, a cup final has eluded this group of players for the last five years, it's the only title we haven't won. Last year we lost, it was tough to lose, I hope they remember in the middle of the celebrations that it's not over.
"We really want to add the Portuguese Cup to our CV, to give Sporting another title, but we know that on the other side we'll have a very competitive team, who will be on alert because they didn't win the league and it's 50/50. It could go either way and we have to fight to win."
You mentioned the fans. How important were they in winning this title?
"Very important. A while ago, I posted a story asking for support no matter what happened because they've been very important throughout this season, more than in Alvalade, where their tireless support is normal, they've made themselves felt all over Portugal and that's been very important for us.
"The most important thing isn't to have them when you win, then it's easy to have anyone on your side. The important thing is to have them when you're in that phase of doubt, when you draw and when you lose, and they were there for you in that phase.
"This championship, as always, has been theirs and they've been fundamental to another achievement. I hope that on Sunday at Jamor they'll be heard once again and that they'll help us fight to win."