The context of the interventions was different. The way they did it too. In a way, it was like a mirror of what is reflected in the Memory and Accounts of both sports societies. On BTV, with tables that explained all the transfer values in this market (some already related to the 2022/23 financial year), Rui Costa explained the paradigm shift in all of Benfica’s football in the studio; on Sporting TV, Frederico Varandas spoke as he walked through an Academy undergoing renovation and reflected on the Sporting project the day he turned four years at the head of the presidency after a historic multi-tier 2021/22 close for the Lions.
“It’s been four years since we promised titles, we promised a path, a course. We knew that we were going to have many difficulties, that we were going to have mishaps, but we always had the courage and coldness to never give up, change or go back in the destiny we had to go through. We live in a world where there is a lot of noise, a lot of opinion, but we believed in what we were doing and we never gave up. This meant an extraordinary recovery for the club in all aspects. In sports, in finances, in infrastructures, in valuing the Sporting brand and above all in recovering what is the pride of feeling Sporting”, he began by pointing out in the interview granted this Friday to the club’s channel, before address what was the balance between the sports and economic part and the sale of Matheus Nunes.
“It is always a challenging equation to make this balance, but in these four years there has always been one word behind any decision we have made: sustainability. We do not believe that it is possible to have sporting success in the medium and long term without sustainability. We will never succumb to the temptation of populism in order to win tomorrow, in the short term, being able to mortgage the future of the club. We never did and we never will. There is always the temptation to win tomorrow, but the popularity of the president can never be above that of the club. This was a decision that we made from the beginning, all the decisions that are made have a basic principle of sustainability”, highlighted Frederico Varandas.
“One of the reasons that led to the stagnation and distancing of the rivals, in our opinion, was the low investment in the football team. It is the trend and normal. Where will I invest? Football. It is necessary to have a more holistic and medium- and long-term vision. It is true that we can run the risk of not winning, but we cannot mortgage Sporting’s path to become stronger. We made a balance by investing in football, also in training, in infrastructure and in the brand. Strategic decisions were made that made Sporting break billing records, with investment in the club, in people, in human resources, in a new green store onlinea megastore… Only in this way we increase by 75% the commercialization what the income was, but we had to make that investment and have the courage not to also invest in the club so that later we would have to sell less”, he stressed. lion leader.
“If we were to sell Matheus Nunes? No, Sporting didn’t have to sell ‘o’ Matheus Nunes, they had to do certain player sales. We sell Matheus now, like we sold Nuno Mendes, like we sold Bruno Fernandes, Acuña and Wendell two years ago and the next [2020/21] we were champions We are going towards a less and less dependence on the sale of players. Invest in the club and increase the Sporting brand to have more income. This record of operating results proves it. We reached historical milestones: record income, the best results in history in operating income, the highest turnover in history. Sporting managed to have less positive results in the pandemic. Show our way. Do we have the ideal situation? No. We’re halfway there. We have a portfolio from the past and we are solving treasury problems that come from the past”, he explained about the 2021/22 Annual Report, which closed with a positive result of 25 million euros.
“Regarding what Rúben Amorim said, he is a coach obsessed with making Sporting succeed. It has the function of managing your group and having the best possible players. If a president doesn’t understand this, he doesn’t have the right coach. Much has been said about everything that surrounds him, but Sporting is lucky to have a coach with whom I have an excellent professional relationship. In addition, Rúben Amorim’s career will always be linked to that moment that seemed absurd to many. Today I would spend every penny that Sporting spent on the manager because he is the right manager. He is body and soul in the Sporting project, rebuilding the Sporting project, he has the ability to understand what he would like and can have, but always with memory”, he also stressed regarding the technician hired in March 2020.
“When we took office in 2018, we knew the difficulties ahead. We knew the weak situation of the club, that we were not going to have the resources we needed to resolve the club’s situation. But we had, had and will have the most important thing: our values, our ideas and principles. We never give up on that. There can be no greater heritage than the values, principles and example that is given. In 2018 we did not have the conditions but these values allowed us to climb obstacles in front of us. Reduction of the difference with the rivals? Sporting is much bigger than its president, whoever he may be, than any ego. Nobody is above Sporting. We are fighting to be stronger and more competitive. Year after year, he is more and more prepared for the future”, said Varandas, closing the interview talking about the new talents in the formation and what he expects for the next four years.
“In the Youth League we saw five, six, seven talents with a very high potential to one day become Sporting players. We cut costs but never stop investing. And, as important as the title, Sporting managed to ensure that they would not lose control of SAD in 2026, doing so in 2022. We will not stray from our line. We want to be more ambitious. What? By having more income, we invest more. If income does not grow, we do not invest more. A well-defined axis: training, football and sport. We believe in a Sporting that is prepared, competitive and fighting for titles”, he concluded.
Source: Observadora
