Soccer-Sporting sack Pereira, Borges appointed as replacement

Dec 26 (Reuters) – Sporting have appointed Rui Borges as head coach, the Portuguese champions announced on Thursday, following the sacking of Joao Pereira.

Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported that Borges has signed a contract until 2026, with an option to extend it by a year.

Pereira, who took over after Ruben Amorim’s departure to Manchester United in November, was in charge for eight matches, of which Sporting won just three.

Under the former Portugal and Sporting defender, the Lisbon club suffered successive Champions League defeats and fell to second in the Primeira Liga standings behind cross-town rivals Benfica.

Pereira’s replacement Borges takes charge of the club after stepping down from his role at fellow Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes.

“Vitoria has reached an agreement with Sporting Clube de Portugal to transfer coach Rui Borges,” Vitoria said in a statement on Thursday.

“The move involves a financial settlement for the sports club and will take effect as of this Thursday.”

Borges, who has coached a string of Portuguese clubs, took charge of Vitoria in May.

The 43-year-old guided them to the knockout stages of the Conference League, where they finished the group stage as one of only two unbeaten clubs alongside England’s Chelsea.

Sporting next host Benfica in a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Click For Restrictions – https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html