Ruben Amorim Reacts to Fernando Santos’ Choices: “I am a hell of a manager”

The recent call-up for the national team does not include any players from Sporting which was a hot topic in the Portuguese football community. When asked by journalists about Santos’ decisions, Amorim responded by saying that he must be “a hell of a manager” because he wins titles using players that do not have what it takes to be on the national team.

The response of Amorim is barely justified

Fernando Santos is a famed coach with many victories under his belt. He is a very good manager and has an impressive track record. Doubting his choices is not something that many Portuguese fans do consider that Santos frequently takes the blame for losses of the national squad. 

Ruben Amorim had a visible smile when making this sting and was not offended by the question in any way. His response is a joke that reflects the current state of affairs at Sporting. The club has been enjoying domestic and international success finishing in 2nd place in Primeira Liga and reaching the knock-out stage of the Champions League last year.

The record for the 2022-2023 season is quite impressive as well with three wins in the domestic championship and two wins in the Champions League. However, the bulk of the success is achieved thanks to many international players including Sebastian Coates (Uruguay), Pedro Porro (Spain), and even Matheus Reis (Brazil) who are called up by their respective national teams. In fact, out of all players on the roster, internationals appear on starting lineups quite often.

Sporting has domestic talent but their spots are taken

Santos has, in his opinion, better alternatives to Pedro Goncalves or Trincao. There are also internal conflicts that the head coach of the Portuguese national team has with some players from Sporting which is also something to take into consideration. Sporting is formed by mostly domestic players, but the impact of superstars like Coates is hard to overlook.

Sporting may perform quite well this season but it does not mean that its players must appear on the national roster.

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