Welcome to another chapter of my Football Manager 2020 blog story. As you can see, things have gone pretty well for me at Sporting CP lately! If you want to read about our post-Christmas surge in greater detail, you can revisit Part 4 here (just don’t ask me about the cups).
Can we carry that impressive league form over into February and March, and into the Europa League knockout rounds? We’ll find out soon, but first, there’s somebody I’d quite like you to meet…
NEW SIGNINGS
I hinted at this at the end of Part 4, but I did sign one player before the January transfer window closed. I can now introduce you to him, as well as another young talent who’ll be arriving in the summer.
So, here is Manuel Ugarte – a Uruguay Under-23s international who joined us from Fénix for €1.8million on deadline day. The 18-year-old is a smart and naturally fit deep-lying playmaker who can also do a decent job as a defensive midfielder.
There’s just one small problem; he can’t play for us in Europe this season. As we didn’t have enough homegrown players, I needed to unregister a senior player from my Europa League squad in order to register Ugarte – and nobody was obviously expendable. Manuel got grumpy about being left out, but I promised that he’d be picked next season so that he didn’t break the world record for the fastest transfer request.
Meanwhile, our head of youth development made offers for a number of young lower-league prospects. The one I allowed him to sign was João Lameira, who’ll join us from Leiria for €175,000 next summer, once his loan at Académica de Coimbra has ended. Lameira has decent, well-rounded attributes for a playmaker, but our scouts are sceptical about the 20-year-old’s potential. Time will tell with him…
PORTIMONENSE vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 20)
Ugarte made his debut in the final 15 minutes of a 2-0 win at lowly Portimonense. Jesé got us off to a quick start with a clever low finish from out wide, but we somehow failed to add to it before half-time. That was partly due to our wastefulness in attack, but also to some fine keeping by Ricardo Ferreira.
Portimonense only launched a few counter-attacks during a match otherwise dominated by Sporting. They almost equalised against the run of play in the final minute of normal time, but Luís Maximiano heroically tipped Japanese left-back Kôki Anzai’s strike against the woodwork to keep us in front.
About a minute later, we went up the other end and sealed the win through Mattheus Oliveira, who headed in an excellent cross by Jovane Cabral. That made it three wins on the bounce – the perfect way to bounce back after going out of both domestic cups.
Victory lifted us into 2nd, as Porto’s collapse continued with a shock 1-0 defeat to Tondela that cost manager Sérgio Conceição his job. We were now three points clear of the Dragões with a game in hand, and a fourth straight win would further strengthen our grip on a Champions League place.
SPORTING vs FAMALICÃO (Primeira Liga – Match 21)
It wasn’t to be, as Famalicão became only the second team (after Porto) to shut us out in the league this season. They might have been newly-promoted to the Primeira Liga, but they had a billionaire owner and substantial backing from agent Jorge Mendes, and were flying high in 5th. They were the Portuguese Wolves, basically.
They also possessed one of the toughest defences in the league. Left-back Racine Coly was named man of the match after strong displays at both ends, but centre-halves Nehuén Pérez amd Patrick William also did a fine job of shutting out our frontmen.
While we created far more shots than Famalicão, the visitors enjoyed more possession and even had two great late chances to take the points. Maximiano caught a header from Walterson before vice-captain Jérémy Mathieu lost the ball to young Italian striker Nicolás Schiappacasse, who then pulled it wide.
Thankfully, that result didn’t cost us too dear. We had actually moved another point clear of Porto, who’d lost AGAIN – this time at home to ex-manager André Villas-Boas and his Vitória de Guimarães side!
SPORTING vs VITÓRIA DE SETÚBAL (Primeira Liga – Match 22)
Vitória de Setúbal, meanwhile, proved no match for us at the Alvalade. Jesé helped himself to another early goal, heading in Mattheus’ free-kick at the far post after just four minutes. The silky Spaniard nearly scored again two minutes later, only to be thwarted by Giorgi Makaridze.
Makaridze continued to frustrate us until we doubled our lead midway through the second half. Cabral’s through-ball to Luiz Phellype was intercepted by defender Artur Jorge, but a miscued back-pass allowed our big frontman to nick it and stab in a simple finish!
Meanwhile, our defence was largely solid, though 17-year-old league debutant Eduardo Quaresma had to deputise for an injured Luís Neto for the last half-hour. We also narrowly failed to keep a clean sheet. Captain Sebastián Coates‘ last-ditch tackle came too late to stop Khalid Hachadi from stroking in a consolation goal for mid-table Vitória.
Another three points were in the bag, and we were now within three of leaders Benfica, who’d been held 0-0 at Paços de Ferreira. Porto ended their winless run by thumping Moreirense 4-1, but hey… they couldn’t be rubbish forever.
TONDELA vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 23)
The only two teams to have beaten Benfica in the league this term then squared off in Tondela. The hosts’ hopes of claiming yet another ‘Big Three’ scalp evaporated after just 13 minutes, when defensive midfielder Pedro Augusto saw red for a stupid two-footed lunge on our winger Rafael Camacho. They never recovered.
I gave Ugarte his first start in this match, and he marked the occasion with not one but TWO goals. The Uruguayan’s first, after 23 minutes, was a stunning strike through a crowded penalty area from Wendel’s whipped corner. His second came early in the second period, when a first-time strike from 25 yards left the home keeper helpless.
Tondela’s defence was cracked open for a third time late on. Miguel Luís swerved a free-kick through their backline and towards his fellow rising star Pedro Mendes, who poached his first Primeira Liga goal!
A few hours later, we watched Famalicão dominate Porto 3-0 and leave the Dragões SEVEN points behind us, having played an extra game! 4th-placed Braga had drawn level on points with them and had a couple of games in hand, so perhaps they were now our main rivals for a Champions League berth!
Speaking of Europe, the time had come for us to travel to Switzerland for our first Europa League knockout game. Let’s bully some Young Boys…
YOUNG BOYS vs SPORTING (Europa League – Round of 32, Leg 1)
Marcos Acuña took the bullying analogy too far after 20 minutes. A fierce tussle with home right-back Jordan Lotomba just outside our penalty area turned into a full-on studs-in lunge, and the referee sent our left-back to detention.
Losing a player meant I had to change my gameplan, by sacrificing Jesé for our other left-back Cristián Borja and adopting a more cautious approach. Our first chance to counter came five minutes later, when Luciano Vietto cut inside and went for goal. Goalkeeper David Von Ballmoos’ block led to chaos in the six-yard box before Luiz Phellype slid the loose ball across the line.
Another breakway in the 40th minute was easier on the eyes. Luiz Phellype picked out Vietto with an excellent long ball into space and then headed for the box, where he buried the Argentine’s square pass moments later. We were a man down, but two goals up!
2-0 was how the scoreline finished, though Luiz Phellype was denied a hat-trick by Von Ballmoos midway through the second period. That missed opportunity didn’t cost us too dear, as Young Boys’ attack might as well have been led by literal schoolchildren. Barring an inexplicable collapse at home a week later, we were surely heading for the next phase.
SPORTING vs MOREIRENSE (Primeira Liga – Match 24)
We warmed up for that second leg with a frustrating, but eventually fruitful win against third-from-bottom Moreirense. Their young manager Filipe Pedro’s catenaccio-style tactics had restricted us to just one goal when we last played them in September, and they were very stubborn defensively again.
After Moreirense saw off a string of Sporting chances in the first half, they continued to hold out for a good chunk of the second. Ultimately, though, Cabral’s blistering pace on the wing proved too much for left-back Djavan, whose clumsy foul gifted us a penalty which Mattheus Oliveira converted.
Mattheus caused more problems in the 73rd minute, when Neto headed his corner home, only for an offside call against Mendes to disallow the goal. The brilliant Brazilian took matters into his own hands in stoppage time, doubling his tally and securing victory with a long-range drive assisted by Idrissa Doumbia.
We finished February having consolidated 2nd in the league, though Porto had returned to form by beating Aves 3-0 on new manager Marco Silva’s debut. Our sights were now set on ousting Benfica from top spot, but before that, we had to kill off some juvenile males in the Europa League…
SPORTING vs YOUNG BOYS (Europa League – Round of 32, Leg 2)
…which wasn’t quite as straightforward as it looked on paper. Yes, Vietto had increased our aggregate lead to 3-0 after just 20 minutes, burying the rebound after Von Ballmoos had blocked his first shot.
But we soon got a bit sloppy and complacent, letting Young Boys back in. Former France and PSG target man Guillaume Hoarau scored the first of the three goals they needed to overturn their deficit ten minutes from time, converting a deep cross from Lotomba.
The Swiss visitors could’ve moved even closer in the 56th minute, when Borja – replacing the suspended Acuña at left-back for us – fouled their other frontman Jean-Pierre Nsamé in the box. Hoarau stepped up to try and double his money, but Maximiano pushed his penalty away and then smothered the loose ball.
We eventually sent Young Boys home defeated after Tiago Ilori headed Wendel’s corner in off the bar, giving us a 2-1 win on the night – and a 4-1 win overall. We had achieved our aim of reaching the Round of 16, but formidable opposition stood between us and the Quarters.
Lazio? Oof… that’s going to be tough.
Meanwhile, Oliveira committed his future to Sporting by penning a new four-year contract. We’d received a fair few silly offers from Brazilian clubs looking to bring him home, as well as from some Chinese sides wanting to throw their money around, but Mattheus was staying put. He had become a big part of our midfield over the past year and would’ve been a huge loss.
FAMALICÃO vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 25)
Two of Mattheus’ compatriots stole the headlines when we went to Famalicão to set the record straight. Luiz Phellype continued his impressive scoring form on 12 minutes, taking full advantage of keeper Vaná’s failure to push Eduardo Henrique’s shot safe.
Eduardo’s next attempt on goal was more successful. A smooth header from Rosier’s right-wing cross effectively beat Famalicão before half-time. They had comfortably the weakest attack of the top five and seldom threatened to damage our lead, let alone destroy it.
Our fourth league win in a row had come after costly home draws for both Braga and Benfica. That moved us another two points clear of the former – and within just one of overtaking the latter!
Mind you, though Braga’s struggles continued in midweek with defeat at home to Portimonense, Benfica did get back on track by thumping Boavista 4-0. If we were to keep ourselves within touching distance of the Eagles, we would need to overcome another flock of birds.
SPORTING vs AVES (Primeira Liga – Match 26)
Yep, it was our old foes Aves – the last team to beat us in the league, when they were bottom of the table. They were still bringing up the rear when they arrived at the Alvalade, but that didn’t stop them from frustrating us again.
In truth, we were mere shadows of our usual selves. We were rushing into shots far too often and making things too easy for goalkeeper Quentin Beunardeau and his back four. I could only watch so many headers fly over the bar and still believe that we would make it through.
But, unlike last November, make it through we did. After Miguel Luís was shoved by centre-half Adam Dzwigala midway through the second period, a fit-again Andraz Sporar converted the spot-kick to finally get us the win.
And as sure as night turns into day, Sporar sprained his ankle three days later. Seriously… is he the Slovenian Andy Carroll or something?
LAZIO vs SPORTING (Europa League – Round of 16, Leg 1)
We might not have had Sporar for our big night in Rome, but at least we had Jesé. After we withstood a series of early Lazio attacks, the Spaniard gave us the lead against the run of play on 12 minutes, heading in a whipped cross from Cabral.
With Maximiano’s cat-like reflexes frequently keeping our hosts at bay throughout the first half, our confidence levels grew and grew. Jesé’s was sky-high in the 52nd minute, when he followed up his headed goal by setting one up for Luiz Phellype. That made it six goals in as many outings for Big Phil!
While I wondered how the heck Jesé failed so spectacularly at Stoke, Lazio desperately fought back. Head coach Simone Inzaghi sent out an SOS to SMS – the Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who gave the hosts fresh hope with a back-post header on 64 minutes.
It was pretty much all Lazio from that point, especially after Coates tripped their striker Ciro Immobile in the 74th minute. That was Seb’s second booking of the night, so we had to survive the final quarter-hour – plus injury-time – with only 10 men.
Fortunately, having Maximiano in goal was like having an extra keeper. A series of world-class saves from the 21-year-old withstood every attack the Biancocelesti threw his way, and we somehow survived the late Roman onslaught and returned to Lisbon with a priceless away win!
And there’s yet more proof that goalkeeper ratings in Football Manager 2020 are broken. Maximiano made FIFTEEN saves against Lazio, including some under extreme pressure late on, yet only scored a 7.0! What did Luís have to do to be named ‘man of the match’ – create a working coronavirus vaccine?!
BOAVISTA vs SPORTING (Primeira Liga – Match 27)
Maximiano and the rest of our team were rather less impressive against Boavista. We’d actually enjoyed a pretty good start, as Coates redeemed himself by heading in a Mathieu free-kick after 17 minutes.
But then we got sloppy, handing Boavista two late first-half goals. Heriberto Tavares headed home a left-wing cross from wing-back Marlon before his own free-kick was converted by centre-half Gustavo Dulanto.
Those were the Axadrezados’ only shots on target, and for a while, it looked like they would be decisive. Substitute winger Cabral had other ideas in the 65th minute, though. When Jovane’s angled shot was parried by keeper Helton Leite, Luiz Phellype headed in the rebound and levelled!
Cabral provided another important assist barely 10 minutes later. I’d been critical of Camacho all game for being too trigger-happy, but when the 19-year-old volleyed in his fellow wideman’s cross, he had won the game with his first ever league goal!
With Benfica and Porto having drawn 1-1 the previous night, this result sent us top of the Primeira Liga on head-to-head! What a huge fillip that was before the biggest match of our European campaign!
SPORTING vs LAZIO (Europa League – Round of 16, Leg 2)
With Lazio needing at least two away goals to have a chance of knocking us out, we just needed to keep our focus and not make too many undue risks. That was easier said than done when your opponents were 6th in Serie A with a fearsome Argentine international forward up front.
Sure enough, our worst fears came to pass barely half an hour in. Joaquin Correa grabbed those two all-important goals in the space of two minutes, stroking in a one-on-one before tapping home a centre from wing-back Jony.
Having gone behind in the tie, the onus was now on us to score. The challenge seemed to get to Vietto, who had two fine chances saved by Thomas Strakosha just before half-time. Jesé was also wilting on the big stage.
Crucially, the other member of our front three kept his nerve when a Lazio defender lost his four minutes from time. As centre-half Bastos dallied on the ball close to his goal, Luiz Phellype closed him down, dribbled into the area, and then gently poked the ball in off the far post. With both legs finishing 2-1 to the away team, extra-time loomed!
This was our fourth cup tie to go the distance, so the fear was that we would run out of steam. In fact, it was the Biancocelesti who faded over the additional half-hour. When Milinkovic-Savic sprained his ankle while tackling Rosier just before half-time, Lazio were reduced to 10 men.
There was more good news for us on the other side of the break, when VAR awarded us a penalty for Jordan Lukaku’s mistimed tackle on Vietto. Mattheus volunteered to take the penalty, which proved too powerful for Strakosha. An anxious 10 minutes or so followed, but our defence held out and secured a 4-3 aggregate victory!
After seeing off the Romans, our reward was a Quarter Final showdown with some Greek giants. AEK weren’t quite the same force they had been in the past, but we still couldn’t afford to get complacent.
SPORTING vs BRAGA (Primeira Liga – Match 28)
Next up was a HUGE home game against top-four rivals Braga, which brought out the best – and the worst – in our captain. Coates pouncing on an Oliveira free-kick in the 10th minute was impressive; Coates attempting to amputate an opponent’s legs two minutes later… wasn’t.
Seb’s second red card in less than a fortnight handed all the momentum to the Arsenalistas. We had to sit deep and stave off several away attacks, which proved to be for nothing when Ricardo Horta eventually levelled on the stroke of half-time.
Victory for Braga would have put them right back in the Champions League hunt, so we could ill afford to concede again. Right-back Ricardo Esgaio came close a couple of times late in the second period… but close wasn’t good enough for them when we won a free-kick close to their goal in the 72nd minute.
Acuña swung in a deep cross to the far post, and up rose Luiz Phellype to flick home his fifth goal in five matches! We’d taken the lead against the run of play, and with Braga out of attacking ideas, another three points were ours!
With six games left to play, we needed just five points to secure a top-two finish ahead of Braga and Porto. A Champions League place was within reach, and the championship would be too if we could win our next match… at Benfica.
YOUTH WATCH
On today’s Youth Watch, I’ll be looking at my first youth intake. Bearing in mind that a player 3* potential at Sporting could become a good Primeira Liga player, we’ve got quite a few decent prospects – and one very, very exciting talent.
We’re already stacked with talent on the wings, but Telmo Duque looks a real star in the making. A right-winger who can also be converted into a left-sided forward, he’s got bags of flair, a gorgeous first touch, and dribbling ability to die for. And if you’re being “touted as the next Luís Figo”, the media must expect pretty big things from you!
Telmo is also ambitious and determined, which is obviously good news for his development. Less positively, his ‘media handling style’ is the unholy trinity of Outspoken, Volatile and Confrontational, which screams ‘trouble-maker in the making’. He’s also not the quickest player out of the gate, but those physical attributes will improve significantly over time.
The best of the rest is left-back Carlos Grilo – a resolute and committed tackler who is quite comfortable on the ball. Carlos also has a, ahem, rather impressive moustache for a 16-year-old. (Seriously, Sports Interactive, PLEASE sort out your newgen faces on FM21.)
It’s shaping up to be a thrilling end to my debut season at Sporting! Please come back on Friday to see if we can win the Primeira Liga at the first attempt… and maybe even the Europa League as well.
What do you mean, I’m getting carried away?
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