Sporting: Between Ruben Amorim's Legacy and Rui Borges' Scrutiny

In football, memories are often short, and patience even shorter. At Alvalade, expectations have soared during the Ruben Amorim era, but the current situation evokes a very recent past under the AC Milan coach... The wave of criticism surrounding Rui Borges at the start of this championship — the team's worst record since the 2022/23 season — mirrors several aspects of that earlier period, which also generated doubts among fans.

To understand the present, one must look back at previous seasons. Much like Amorim in 2020/2021, Rui Borges led Sporting to the championship title in his debut season (2024/2025), accumulating 82 points. The following season (2025/2026), Borges repeated the exact same points tally — 82 points — finishing in 2nd place, battling an unstoppable FC Porto, who became champions with 88 points. This pattern is an almost exact replica of Amorim's trajectory: after the 2021 title with 85 points, the coach achieved the same 85 points in 2021/2022, losing the title to a Porto side that reached 91. In neither case did Sporting's performance drop; it was their rivals who raised the bar.

However, it's in the start of the subsequent season, analyzing up to the 7th matchday, that a clear dip occurred in these cycles. While this season's start has been marked by inconsistency, in 2022/2023, under Rúben Amorim, Sporting had an even more turbulent beginning: three wins (Rio Ave, Estoril, and Portimonense), one draw (SC Braga), and three losses (FC Porto, Chaves, and Boavista), accumulating only 10 points out of a possible 21. By the 7th matchday, the Lions were in a modest 8th place, already 11 points behind leaders Benfica. At the time, the club's structure and the stands backed the project, granting the necessary leeway to the man who had brought titles back to the club.

Reaching the same 7th matchday in 2026/27, the scenario under Rui Borges is slightly better: four wins (V. Guimarães, Alverca, Rio Ave, and Nacional), three draws (E. Amadora, Famalicão, and Arouca), and zero defeats. Sporting sits in 3rd position, with 15 points accumulated (out of a possible 21), 6 points behind the blue and white leaders. Although far from the desired 100% winning record, the team remains undefeated and slightly more competitive than the version from four seasons ago. Frederico Varandas, just as in 2022/2023, stood by his coaches and gave them a vote of confidence…