Sporting CP announced on Sunday evening that they had met with Rui Borges and started conversations aimed at terminating his contract. The club said Tiago Fernandes, currently in charge of the B team, would take over as interim head coach with immediate effect and that the new first-team coach would be announced soon. The decision followed a run of results that left the Lisbon side nine points behind league leaders FC Porto, after a defeat to Ac. Viseu turned internal doubts about Borges's future into action.
Paulo Fonseca is the chosen successor and is expected to be presented at Alvalade during the week. Sporting reached an agreement with Lyon for his release. Fonseca was not the first coach approached by Sporting but was the first who showed strong enthusiasm for the move to Alvalade. The club had made keeping a Portuguese coach a priority, and Fonseca emerged as the main option after other candidates were ruled out.
Borges's position had been under scrutiny since a third draw in seven league games against Arouca. A 2-0 win over Casa Pia, with goals from Pedro Lima and Geny Catamo, did not ease the pressure. The relationship between the coach and the club's SAD worsened as Borges learned of exploratory contacts with possible successors. Frederico Varandas led the process and tried to keep Borges in charge for the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk in London on Tuesday, but the coach rejected that idea. Borges ultimately concluded he did not have conditions to stay after victories over Marítimo in the Taça da Liga and Casa Pia failed to change the scenario.
Fonseca's departure from Lyon appears close. After Lyon's Ligue 1 win over Angers on Sunday, the Portuguese coach was visibly emotional and in tears when the players came to the technical area to celebrate the second goal with him in a collective embrace that looked like a farewell. Fonseca said a move was a possibility and that everything was possible regarding Sporting's interest, while adding that he did not know whether he would finish the season at Lyon and that he would be with the group on Monday. He also stressed his affection for the French club and its people, and the move would mark a return to Portugal a decade after he left Sp. Braga.
One detail that helped unblock the deal was an outstanding amount of more than €6.5 million related to capital gains from the transfer of Portugal Under-21 international Afonso Moreira from the French club to Bayer Leverkusen, which was still to be settled.
Tiago Fernandes, whose B team beat Leixões on Sunday and tops the Segunda Liga, will be in charge only for the fourth Champions League matchday at Shakhtar Donetsk. Fonseca's debut is expected either against Moreirense next Saturday at Estádio José Alvalade or, at the latest, after the international break at home to União da Serra in the Taça de Portugal on the 21st. The plan depends on how quickly the final details are closed. Fonseca is expected to be presented on Wednesday, which would give him time to work with the team and prepare for the match on the 7th against Moreirense if no obstacle arises.
Sporting had considered other Portuguese coaches. Leonardo Jardim did not want to return to Portugal, Abel Ferreira did not see himself returning to Alvalade, Vítor Pereira wanted to continue abroad, and Sérgio Conceição was not an option. Paulo Sousa and Vítor Matos were also mentioned, but Fonseca was the leading candidate.
Borges had said after the Casa Pia win that he felt confidence from the president and everyone at the club, that the victory was important after a negative result, and that everything else was noise. He added that he was not worried and that the team had come to play a football match, not opera.
Sources: Observador.