The management of Portuguese football giant, Sporting Lisbon, has appointed Rui Borges as head coach minutes after sacking Joao Pereira, who took over from Ruben Amorim, over poor performance.
Borges takes charge of the club after stepping down from his role at fellow Portuguese top-flight club, Vitoria Guimaraes, to assist Cristiano Ronaldo’s former club keep its league title hopes alive.
The Portuguese champions announced its decision on Thursday after all efforts to ensure that the team before embarking on Christmas celebration break sustained momentum which Amorin set before leaving for England to become Manchester United manager.
Sporting, in a statement made available to newsmen, said Borges has signed a contract until June 2026, with an option to further extend it by a year.
The club paid Vitoria a settlement of 4.1 million euros ($4.26 million) for the 43-year-old’s services who has coached a string of Portuguese clubs before taking over Vitoria in May.
Before his arrival, he 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.
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.
