A Sporting’s formation has been recognized around the world for many years. It is an essential part of Frederico Varandas’ project and has assumed special relevance with Rúben Amorim, who frequently calls young people from training to the main team (an example is the last training sessions, during the FIFA break), always admitting the importance of these athletes for financial sustainability and sports team of Sporting. And, of course, with Felipe Celikkaya, who works for the Lions’ B team.
The name says it all – Cristiano Ronaldo Academy. Sporting shows pride in having formed one of the best players of all time, without forgetting other names such as Luís Figo, Ricardo Quaresma, Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, among many others.
The Academy recently received the five-star training entity award from the Portuguese Football Federation, received by Paulo Gomes, general director of the Academy. The Football Observatory (CIES) also published a study in which Sporting emerges as the third club in the world with the most players (85) in the main 60 European Leagues. In second place is ‘rival’ Benfica, with 87, and Ajax, with 91.
O Sport at the Minute he spoke to someone knowledgeable about Leonine training, having performed management roles in Alcochete. Nelson Pereira, the club’s former goalkeeper, was general director of the B and under-23 teams in 2020/21, after a long career as a goalkeeper coach. Nélson explains the importance of training, particularly for team B:
“It’s fundamental. It’s a fundamental team for the formation project of a big club. In the case of Sporting, many players have been widely used, not only at the club, but also in the I League and clubs abroad. It’s a difficult stage for these players, but also adapting to a senior championship, and they are very young”, he begins by saying.
Sporting’s B team is very young, with an average age of 19.65 years. “The secret is having kids aged 17, 18, 19 in a senior championship. League 3 is already a competitive championship. If they played in the II League, they wouldn’t have the same performance, there would have to be a different team format. There had to be players with more competitive ability who could overshadow the growth of the younger players”, explains Nélson Pereira, when confronted with the fact that Sporting B were left out of the League 3 champion qualification phase.
“If you ask me if I would like to see them in a higher league, I would too. But another question arises – would it be possible with this team? I don’t think so. There would have to be older players. The II League is extremely competitive and difficult to play. There had to be changes to the project. What I identified, while I was there, is that there was an overlap between training players and the competitive issue”, he concludes.
Celikkaya is a key element in this time of transitionThe coach of team B is Felipe Celikkaya, aged 39, has been fulfilling these roles since 2020. He arrived at the club in the same year as Rúben Amorim, a long-time friend. Both played for Belenenses, but Celikkaya did not have the same success as a footballer, dedicating himself early to his coaching career.
“The structure works very well. I was involved in the process when Celikkaya arrived. Having a good personal relationship helps a lot [entre Amorim e Celikkaya]. I don’t know other cases very well, but here, the way he works on team B is followed up. Connections between team A and B are beneficial and allow for better use. They communicate moments of players’ form or the potential of a given player to be in team A more often, this goes through both of them. It’s a perfect combination. Celikkaya is a key element in this time of transition”, says Nélson.
Asked about any possible redundancy in the under-23 team, from the Revelation League, with there already being a B team, the current ambassador of Liga Portugal rejects it. “It’s another step. When you have the conditions to take more steps, because there are players who don’t overcome them as quickly as others, having this intermediate step, allows them to have more time to consolidate their process. It makes perfect sense. This year, Sporting’s under-23 team is at a very interesting level”, he says. The fact is that The team led by João Pereira, a former Leonine full-back, leads the qualifying phase for champions.
The next ‘stars’ that Felipe Celikkaya has on the Alcochete assembly line
You can always expect young promises to be taken into account from the Sporting Academy. Nuno Mendes and Rafael Leão are some of the last big names in national football with ‘Alcochete certificate’. We asked Nélson Pereira what’s next:
“There is a kid, who appeared suddenly, who is the Rafael Nel, which is taking very interesting steps in its process. He was with the juniors, then João started calling him up to the under-23s, Celikkaya also picked him up and started introducing the demands and behaviors that are necessary for the next stage. He has already been called up to the main team, he has already made his debut in a Europa League game [contra o Young Boys]Therefore, it is important to understand that these are phases”, assesses Nélson Pereira.
Rafael Nel has been almost entirely available for the B team this season, aged 18. He was called up for two Europa League games in February, partly due to an injury to Paulinho. He has eight goals in 24 games. He went through the formation of Benfica and Belenenses before arriving at Sporting in 2020.
Nélson Pereira, former goalkeeper, welcomes the evolution of Diogo Pinto, a young goalkeeper who works with the main team. “I see a lot of potential in him. I really like the Diogo Pinto. It is at number two in Franco Israel. But it seems to me that, if there are no overlapping dates, he should continue to play for the B team. Few people have followed the process of its evolution, but it is extraordinary. It is important to maintain competition. He is already at a good level of demand, in terms of training, in the A team, if he can compete even better”, he explains, suggesting that Diogo Pinto be loaned to a I League club next season.
Finally, there is a young striker, aged 16, who Rúben Amorim has already called to training and has already received some interest from the national press – Geovany Quenda. “He’s a football virtuoso. A kid with quality, objective, unbalancer. You have to give credit to Rúben Amorim because he already took him to the game, he didn’t put him on the field. He’s giving him the steps he needs to climb. That’s It’s good for very young players, because afterwards there can be a dazzlement. Even with Celikkaya, he sometimes goes to the bench. There are some precautions here to avoid missing stages”, concludes Nélson Pereira.
Read Also: Rúben Amorim calls ‘goal lions’ at Sporting training
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