History postponed after a "now or never"

“They say we’ll never be two-time champions again. Let’s see.” When he dropped the microphone in the middle of the stage set up at Marquês de Pombal for Sporting’s title celebration a year ago, Ruben Amorim did more than one sentence or gesture could have possibly imagined. On the one hand, and if there were any doubts left in the face of Liverpool’s cooling interest, he confirmed that he would stay at Alvalade for another season. On the other hand, he gave another extra boost to almost 100,000 people who filled the iconic Lisbon roundabout and to millions of fans of the club who were not exactly used to such national dominance as happened in 2023/24. Finally, he left a message between the lines for the direct rivals between a Benfica that has become almost hostage to a worn-out Roger Schmidt and an FC Porto starting a new cycle at all levels.

For those who understand, that drop the mic was worth a thousand words. The market told the rest: apart from the situation of Sebastián Coates, who left the Lions a year earlier than was supposed to be agreed upon by all parties due to a family matter, none of the regular starters left, Mateus Fernandes and the joker Paulinho were the only sales (along with the cash inflows from the added value of players such as João Palhinha and Renato Veiga) and the biggest investment ever was concentrated in four players who arrived at the club with a short and medium-term perspective as strongholds for a renewal: Kovacevic, who was the only casting mistake made by the scouting department due to his lack of adaptation to the club and the country, Maxi Araújo, Zeno Debast and Conrad Harder. It was an effort made for something that internally functioned as a kind of Last Dance. Amorim was completing his last chapter at Sporting and wanted to end on a high note.

The rivals, for different reasons, went into the game with fewer weapons. Benfica gave priority to the financial aspect, balancing a year that was one of the most profitable in the first half of the year – over 40 million positive compared to 18.1 million in the same period –, invested in another attacking reference (Pavlidis) but saw the squad lose names such as João Neves, David Neres and Marcos Leonardo in a market closing that brought in on the last day a reinforcement that was one of the best investments in terms of quality and price in recent years (Kerem Aktürkoglu, who cost 12 million). Meanwhile, FC Porto, hostage to an extremely fragile economic and financial situation, gained some margin with the sale of Evanilson, bought Fábio Vieira on loan without an option and invested heavily in Samu Omorodion, who had just won the Paris Olympic Games.

Sporting continued to look at other players. It was soon clear at Alvalade that Viktor Gyökeres' chances of leaving this summer were slim, but real enquiries began to emerge from other international players who had long been linked to some of the main European leagues, along with much more advantageous financial offers that might not yield as much for the Lions but which appeared to be an almost unique career opportunity. When the situation approached a point that could lead to a departure, Ruben Amorim appeared to both. He spoke. He explained. He asked. The close relationship he always maintained with the players, which became one of the hallmarks of his time at Sporting, prevailed, ensuring that everyone was on the same page in search of something that would be historic.

If they won again, the Lions could win their second championship, something that had not happened for over 70 years. However, there were other internal objectives defined, which included not only winning the remaining national competitions but also progressing in European competitions that would allow them to at least reach the round of 16 of the Champions League (something that would only happen for the third time) or make history with a top 8 finish that would be historic. Despite having a contract valid until June 2026, this would always be Amorim's last season at the club and the intention was to find conditions for the group to reach its best performance.

It was the last season, the group that was put together had all the conditions to reach its best performance, the scenario was diametrically opposite to everything that could have been imagined. What's more: in the run-up to the derby at the Estádio da Luz between Benfica and Sporting, where either team could be crowned champion if they won, Ruben Amorim was still the one everyone was thinking about. Why? Although it was not an "insignificant" position, the coach's decision had a butterfly effect and launched the chaos theory in the Championship. Everything that happened, before and after his departure to England where he is in charge of Manchester United, marked everyone's 2024/25 season.

The first official match did not go well for Sporting, who, after taking a 3-0 lead against FC Porto after just over 20 minutes of play, let themselves be held back and even allowed the Dragons to turn the game around in extra time with a goal from Iván Jaime that earned them the Super Cup. Ruben Amorim was not happy and the week was spent almost undergoing shock therapy on a night when two of the most high-profile signings, Kovacevic and Zeno Debast, were left out of the picture. More than losing his first trophy, the coach did not want to risk losing the season. The victory at home to Rio Ave stabilized the Lions again, and the away wins against Nacional and Farense confirmed this redemption. Another derby followed, with Viktor Gyökeres scoring six goals and providing one assist in just three matches in a historic start.

When the Sporting and FC Porto buses were on their way to Alvalade, Benfica confirmed what had already been rumored hours before: Roger Schmidt couldn't survive the defeat in Famalicão and the draw in Moreira de Cónegos, and was fired after just four rounds. Bruno Lage didn't appear as Rui Costa's only or priority option, but he ended up being the president's choice in an attempt to repeat what happened in 2018/19, when the then administrator backed his name to replace Rui Vitória. The Lions won the derby with goals from Gyökeres and Geny Catamo, took the lead in the Championship, and confirmed their superiority with successive victories (and a run of 719 minutes without conceding a single goal) and also continued to score points in the Champions League, which allowed them to be in the top 8 of the group. By the tenth round, they had three more points than FC Porto and five more than Benfica.

It was before this thrashing of Estrela da Amadora at home that Omar Berrada travelled to Lisbon. The former Manchester City director, who was hired this season by United in one of the biggest internal investments to reverse the direction that the club has taken in recent years, had his own idea regarding Erik ten Hag's successor and wanted to put all his chips on signing Amorim, even going against what the other members of the football management team considered to be the best in this context (someone with more experience, who would pose less risk and who was familiar with the reality of the Premier League). Even then, the alarm bells did not ring, a bit like what had happened the previous season with other English clubs: the green and white SAD believed that the outcome of this relationship would be the same as the others. It did not.

It was only when the coach admitted that he was analysing what had been proposed to him that the concern began to set in. Sporting knew that this was Amorim's last season at Alvalade, as had been agreed at the start of the season, they were fully aware that they were the strongest candidates to win the title, they were also playing with the team's campaign in the Champions League (with all the media attention that this brings on the main European stages), and they also believed that family stability in the middle of a school year would have its weight. However, nothing seemed to work. The inquiries made by Chelsea and Liverpool or the proposal presented by West Ham had been ignored, but Manchester United was different.

Trying to get the best of both worlds, Ruben Amorim raised more than once the possibility of staying at Sporting until the end of the season with Ruud van Nistelrooy (or any other option that the club considered to be better) remaining as interim, in a scenario that could have the advantage of “saving” the payment of the clause despite having a contract with the Lions until 2026. The Red Devils were intransigent in the initial plan and, with each counter-proposal that was presented, they increased the pressure: “It’s now or never”. United was the type of project, at all levels, that the coach was looking for to have his first experience abroad but it appeared at the time he least liked to face. The decision, personal, would be made after talking to his wife and a very restricted group of people close to him on the eve of another game.

These were not easy times. When the front pages of the sports newspapers began to feature the image of Ruben Amorim on his way to England, some players made a point of confronting the coach about everything that was happening. Amorim tried to “deflate” the elephant in the room, admitting that it was a possibility but that nothing was set in stone and that the focus should be on the League Cup quarter-finals and the upcoming fixtures. Sporting won, with Gyökeres only being brought on at half-time to score twice in the 3-1 win at Alvalade against Nacional, and the image that was conveyed was one of total unity between the players and the coaching staff. It was not like that. Some were even moved when they realised that an era of more than four years had come to an end, while others were saddened because they understood that the “journey” should be completed together.

The management of the Sporting SAD played on three “boards”. On the one hand, they tried to resist the departure as much as possible, knowing that, from the moment the coach wanted it and Manchester United paid, there would be little they could do. On the other hand, they began to prepare an internal succession that would basically arrive half a year earlier than expected. Finally, they tried to ensure that the impact of the news on the dressing room would not have any effect on the moment the team was going through. That is what happened: the Sportings thrashed Estrela 5-1, experienced one of the best European nights with a 4-1 win over the all-powerful Manchester City with another hat-trick from Viktor Gyökeres and made an epic comeback in Braga, turning a 0-2 at half-time into 4-2 with a brace from Harder in a match in which Pedro Gonçalves was at his limit, took a risk due to the pressure the game was putting on him and left injured.

FC Porto and Benfica had managed to stabilise their results, but the Reds' triumph in the 11th round derby increased their advantage to five points over the Eagles and six over the Dragons. Sporting were like a TGV travelling at too high a speed in the Championship and in the Champions League itself. João Pereira, the coach who was in charge of the B team, was next in line . Everything could change.

The legacy was too heavy, especially because the former full-back, who began his coaching career with Sporting's youth teams, was always caught between his ideas and the model that the green and white team was used to. Failures kept coming and, after the rout in the Portuguese Cup against the modest Amarante, the Lions suffered four consecutive defeats between the Championship and the Champions League. João Pereira's experience seemed dated and it was only a matter of time before he left, something that happened after another goalless draw in Barcelos against Gil Vicente. The rivals made the most of the champion's six-week slump and the fight for the title was once again reignited, with Bruno Lage having only one slip-up away to AVS to take the lead with one more point than FC Porto and Sporting before the Christmas break. The story that seemed to have been written had finally turned the page.

Frederico Varandas resisted until the last minute but finally gave in. The president of Sporting maintained the idea that João Pereira would make a great coach in the future (something he had already said publicly before he ended his playing career) but, looking at the facts, the results, the team's current form and even what he felt about the players, he ended up letting go of the former B team coach in a change that soon brought Rui Borges to Alvalade. With barely any time to prepare for the derby, the former V. Guimarães helmsman was introduced on the 26th, gave his first training session that day and beat his rival Benfica in Alvalade three days later with a goal from Geny Catamo, ending the first round in the lead , because in the 17th round they drew 4-4 in Guimarães but their direct rivals lost their matches.

Despite this, the problems were there – and not just one or two. On the one hand, the team had regained some of its competitiveness but was still treading unfamiliar ground due to a tactical change to a 4x2x3x1 formation that had not had enough time to be absorbed. On the other hand, several players were experiencing a huge physical decline, with an exponential increase in the number of injuries, also due to the different work methods that had been implemented since Ruben Amorim's departure. In addition, the calendar was relentless and the opponents themselves were not giving much of a “margin” between the last two rounds of the Champions League and the Final Four of the League Cup in Leiria against FC Porto and Benfica (with the Reds winning in the penalty shootout). In theory, Sporting had weathered the storm; in practice, they were still paying the price.

The rivals were also experiencing problems, in a Championship that was benefiting those who made the fewest mistakes rather than those who played the most. Eliminated from the Portuguese Cup and excluded from the League Cup final, Vítor Bruno felt the growing pressure from the fans, especially due to the lack of results playing away from home, in addition to internal clashes with some players (Pepê was the paradigmatic example of this). The defeat against Gil Vicente in Barcelos was the straw that broke the camel's back in a cup that had been overflowing for a long time, and not even the arrival of a new coach, Martin Anselmi, helped to ease the need to sell assets in the January transfer window. In other words, in addition to the team's drop in performance, Nico González and Galeno left.

Then, Rui Costa read the moment, “held back” Bruno Lage after the episode involving the audio recording with fans in the Luz garage following the defeat in Rio Maior against Casa Pia and made a big bet on the winter market with four signings: Samuel Dahl, Bruma, Manu Silva (who was seriously injured shortly afterwards) and Belotti. Unlike what happened with Ruben Amorim at Alvalade, when there was a certain distrust of seeing their direct rival fail in the Championship, the management of the Red and Whites SAD understood that it was the moment to take greater action and push for the first place, as well as giving them other weapons for the European fight for a spot in the top 8. Time proved their bet right: in addition to reaching the round of 16 of the Champions League, where they only lost to the all-powerful Barcelona, ​​they took advantage of Sporting’s consecutive draws with FC Porto, Arouca and AVS, with Viktor Gyökeres still being managed physically, to close in on the lead.

That's how the last break of the season for international matches arrived: Sporting and Benfica with the same number of points (53), FC Porto six behind, more concerned with the approach of Sp. Braga (who also had 47) than with the top spot. Normality was "reestablished" with only two moments in which the standings changed: in the 28th round, the reds won big at Dragão and took advantage of the draw of the green and whites at home to Sp. Braga to isolate themselves at the top; in the following round, the lions passed in the Azores against Santa Clara and saw the eagles concede a draw at Luz with Arouca. The most important derby ever in the Championship, with the unprecedented possibility of crowning Benfica or Sporting as champions at the same time, arrived with 18 points lost by the leaders, more than those who celebrated in the last four seasons wasted throughout the entire competition, and the draw postponed everything until the end.

Despite a season in which they had experienced everything, good and bad, the Sporting group was 90 minutes away from fulfilling an internal pact made at the time of Ruben Amorim's departure that they could be champions even without the helmsman who laid the foundations for the project. When the match against V. Guimarães began, in a bustling and packed Alvalade (Amorim played the first game in Alvalade with Desp. Aves with just over 20,000 people in the stands and more whistling than anything else...), the mission abroad was to win the second championship, but internally it was mainly about fulfilling a promise made in November. Even so, and with Amorim, would it have been necessary to wait until the last minute?