Chapter 8: the road to the championship fight

Sporting Lisbon is now behind Porto and Boavista on the road to the league champion so they are under a lot of pressure.

The team atmosphere when training is very heavy so coach Fernandes has let all players train tactics understand to relieve stress.

Coach Fernandes also call Quaresma to have some discussion about his playtime and coach Fernandes said he did not want to use Quaresma too soon cause he is still young so he will give Quaresma some chance to play as a substitute.

11/03/2001

Sporting Lisbon meets Aves at home in Primeira round 24 and easy to gain 3 points with the score 2-0.

24' minutes, forward Spehar opens the score 1-0 for Sporting to control the game.

69' minutes, midfielder Pedro Barbosa makes a long shot fly to the right top corner and changes the score to 2-0.

At the press conference after the game, coach Fernandes is very pleased with the team's performance and he hopes his team will maintain this to the end of the season.

The round 25 that Sporting Lisbon has to face Porto and who wins in this game will have more chances to become the league champion so coach Fernandes prepares for the team training to play against Porto in one week.

19/03/2001

Primeira round 25, Sporting Lisbon plays against Porto, two teams have prepared to warm up before the match and in this game, Quaresma still appears on the bench but he continues to warm up like the main player.

In the first half of the game, Sporting plays very cautiously and waits for Porto's mistake to make a counterattack, and Porto patiently controls the ball to find a chance to play offense.

64' minutes, Deco easily breakthrough to the penalty area and open the score 1-0 for Porto.

75' minutes, João Pinto makes a long shot to the far corner of the goal to equalize the score 1-1.

76' minutes, Acosta receives a cross from midfielder Paulo Bento to defeat the keeper with a header and help Sporting lead 2-1.

85' minutes, Porto uses midfielder Maríc to replace central defender Aloísio to increase their offense.

89' minutes, Maríc makes a shot inside the penalty area to defeat keeper Schmeichel and equalize the score 2-2.

At the press conference after the game, coach Fernandes feels very regretful because they miss a victory in the last minute of the game and just get 1 point.

There are two weeks before the next game so coach Fernandes gives all players three days' rest to relax their minds and release pressure.

02/04/2001

Primeira round 26, Sporting Lisbon plays against Beira-Mar at home, and the players of the two teams have begun to warm up.

In the locker room, coach Fernandes tells all players to play steady and patiently wait for a chance to play counterattack.

32' minutes, Sporting was awarded a right corner kick, João Pinto cross a ball, and Hugo makes a header to defeat the keeper, Sporting Lisbon opens the score 1-0.

36' minutes, Fary Faye makes a curveball shot fly to the top corner and equalizes the score for Beira-Mar 1-1.

38' minutes, João Pinto makes a pass piercing the Beira-Mar team defense for striker Acosta to make a power shot hit the roof of the net and change the score to 2-1 before the first half ended.

In the second half, no team does not have many chances to threaten the goal.

At the press conference after the game, coach Fernandes thinks his team can score more goals in this game but did not seize the opportunity.

Quaresma's name still appears on the bench and he knows that his opportunity to play is very low cause coach Fernandes put more trust in the old player last season.

07/04/2001

Primeira round 27, Sporting Lisbon plays against União de Leiria, and the team just has 5 days to prepare for the game so all the player's physicals are not in good condition.

The first half begins in just 3' minutes, midfielder Tiago makes a power-long shot that hit the right top corner of the net to open the score 1-0 for União De Leiria.

27' minutes, coach Fernandes uses forward Mpenza to replace central defender Hugo to upgrade the team's offense and put pressure on the opponent.

45' minutes, coach Fernandes continues to use his second substitute to replace Tello and Toñito comes into the court.

66' minutes, central defender Bilro participates in União de Leiria corner kick and makes a header to change the score to 2-0.

70' minutes, Quaresma comes into the court to replace forward Rodrigo.

Quaresma moves positively from right wing to left wing to disturb and put pressure on the União de Leiria defense.

80' minutes, Quaresma successfully snatch the ball from central defender Renato and makes a power long shot hit the roof of the net to pull back a goal for Sporting 1-2.

86' minutes, Quaresma was fouled by the keeper from the left outside the penalty area and received a yellow card from the referee, Sporting Lisbon was awarded a free kick.

88' minutes, Quaresma takes this free kick and makes a curveball shot hit the left corner of the goal to equalize the score 2-2 for Sporting.

At the press conference, coach Fernandes says his team has a lucky draw in this game and they have not concentrated enough so the team concedes a goal very soon.

Quaresma thinks he has a good feeling in this game and scores two more goals this season and maybe next season, he will become the main player of the team.