FM10 : Official Sporting Clube de Portugal

Club Information

Full Name: Sporting Clube de Portugal

Nickname: Leões (The Lions)

Founded: July 1st, 1906

Stadium: Estádio José Alvalade (Capacity: 50,076)

Manager: Paulo Bento or You?

Major Rivals: Benfica & Porto

Minor Rivals: Belenenses

Affiliates: E. Amadora, Estoril, Barreirense, Olhanense, O. Moscavide, Portimonense, Fatima, Casa Pia, Vit. Setubal, Real Massama

Club Legends: Luis Figo

Club Icons: Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernanado Peyroteo, Manuel Fernandes, Liedson, Vitor Damas, Joao Moutinho, Ricardo Sa Pinto, Oceano, Alberto Acosta, Krassimir Balakov

Media Prediction: 2nd

Club Captain: Joao Moutinho

Corporate Facilities: Top Corporate Facilities

Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities

Youth Facilities: Excellent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy

Club Finances

Estimated Value: £106

Balance: £10.4

Sponsors: 3 year main kit sponsorship deal at £2.25M per season (Ends 2010)

Financial Backing:

Title Challenge: Transfer Budget: £1.7M Wage Budget: £14.75M p/a (£13.8M p/a)

Winner: Transfer Budget: £2.1M Wage Budget: £16M p/a (£13.8M p/a)

History

(This is directly lifted from Sporting's Wiki page and is quite long, so if your interest is just in FM related Sporting info then you can just scroll down.)

First years

The routes of the footballing tradition of Sporting can clearly be traced back to the founding period of 1906. However this was also an eclectic period for the multiple disciplines of athletics followed by the founders of the club. The founding members of the club where devoted athletes, as well as practitioners of the disciplines of football, tennis, tug-of-war, fencing, cricket, gymnastics and field hockey.

In 1907, Dom Fernando de Castelo Branco (Pombeiro) authorized the use of the lion from his coat of arms, without its blue background. "Not with a golden gun of red on a blue field, as was Pombeiro's, but with a silver gun of black on a green field, that clearly affirms the intentions of the founders," notes Júlio de Araújo. The green exterior was in fact suggested by Visconde of Alvalade, symbolizing hope for the new club.

The 3rd of February 1907 witnessed the first game of football for Sporting. It cannot be said however that the club met with immediate success: losing 5 – 1, in the second division, against Cruz Negra, in Alcântara. However, some of the players from the winning side would later join Sporting: Alípio da Motta Veiga, Octávio Teixeira Bastos, António das Neves Vital and others. D. João de Vila Franca scored the only goal for Sporting in the game: a goal that would be the first in the history of Sporting.

The 1st of December 1907 witnessed the birth of an eternal rivalry. Sporting Clube de Portugal and Sport Lisboa (that would only become known as Benfica the following year) contested a game of football on the pitch at Quinta Nova, in Sete Rios. Sporting, who dressed in white during its early years, debuted in a kit consisting of a striped green and white shirt and white socks. This is a kit that has been reproduced in celebration of Sporting's centenary. This kit became known as the "Stromp Kit", as homage to the very popular 'Sportinguista' Franciso Stromp: a brilliant footballer who was one of the best Portuguese sportsmen of all time. Sporting won the game against Benfica 2 – 1, with one goal being scored by Cândido Rosa Rodrigues, one of the Catatau brothers and former player of Sport Lisboa. This would become the first goal for the "Lions" in the great rivalry between this two giants of Portuguese sports. The 1907–08 season would see Sporting finish as regional runner-up.

The Club had, what was considered back at that time, the best pitch in Portugal, in Sítio das Mouras. Located then at 73 Alameda do Lumiar, today known as Alameda das Linhas de Torres, the pitch was located in terrain made available by Visconde de Alvalade at his farm. The pitch was in use as early as May 1906 and was improved later in 1907. The pitch and surrounding sports complex housed a football pitch, athletics track, two tennis courts and a pavilion with showers, baths and a kitchen. A pavilion that was, at the time, a luxury.

In 1910, Sporting's eclectic spirit was already settled, as its Tennis teams were gaining evidence, and titles in pole vaulting, shot put and long jump were won. This was also the year that José Alvalade would assume the presidency of the club: an office he would hold until 1916.

Initial triumphs

The direction of the club was now drawn: drawn in victory. Sporting would win its first Campeonato de Lisboa, fourth division, in 1912, repeting this feature in Sporting in 1915, now in the Honour division, together with the Honourary Cup, with a victory over Benfica in the final (3-1). The victory in Campeonato de Lisboa in 1915 was the first in a long series that Sporting would claim. A series that saw Sporting claim 19 Championships (6 of them in a row) between 1915 and 1947: when the championship came to an end. 1915 also saw the teams of Sporting begin to use black shorts to accompany the "Stromp" shirt.

Laranjeira Guerra would win the Porto-Lisboa cycling event in 1912: an event made more epic by the state of the roads traversed as well as the equipment used. This cyclist would become the precursor of brilliant cyclists such as Alfredo Trindade, João Roque, Leonel Miranda, Marco Chagas and the greatest of all: Joaquim Agostinho. Success in the Tour de France, such as being part of the top 10 for eight times, and two third place, as well as a second place in the Vuelta a España (only 11 seconds behind the winner José Manuel Fuente), during Eddy Merckx and then Bernard Hinault periods, not to mention many successes in Portugal (three times winner of Volta a Portugal), transformed Agostinho into one of the legends and symbols of Sporting.

In a sport that was very much in the vogue at the time, Tug-of-War, Sporting achieved a level of immeasurable success: they were never defeated in competitive meetings.

1912 would see more success for Sporting's athletes as the highly versatile António Stromp would shine in the 100m (reaching the fourth round) and the 200m in the Olympic Games held in Stockholm, which were fatal to the Portuguese marathon runner Francisco Lázaro. António Stromp was Sporting's first Olympian athlete and he would place Sporting on a path that would see Sporting as the most successful Olympic club of the country, both in the number of representatives, as well as the number of medals won. Also in 1912 Sporting would win its first in a long series of National Championships in Cross Country.

In 1917, Sporting relocated its facilities. José Alvalade allowed for the building of the Stadium de Lisboa in 1914; however a disagreement between the founder and director over the use of the stadium led to the ones that held office to seek another solution. These Sportinguistas would lease a plot in the local vicinity in the form of the pitch at 412 Campo Grande, where a stadium would be constructed by the architect António do Couto: a stadium that would be the home of Sporting for the following 30 years. This however would not be the end of the stadium's life, as Benfica moved from Amoreiras and where granted use of the stadium by Sporting. This stadium was fondly known by his "office of wood" and was part of the land that now exists in the area south of Estádio José Alvalade.

1920–1940

During the twenties, Sporting would win its first Campeonato de Portugal (1922/23): a competition attributed as the National title although it was contested as an eliminatory competition. The decisive game was contested in Faro on the 24th of July 1923, with a 3-0 victory against Académica. The Sporting team was at the time comprised of Torres Pereira, Jaime Gonçalves, Francisco Stromp, João Francisco Maia, Carlos Fernandes, José Leandro, Filipe dos Santos, Joaquim Ferreira, Cipriano dos Santos, Jorge Vieira and Henrique Portela. Joaquim Ferreira scored two goals, with Francisco Stromp, Sporting and Portuguese sport legend, pioneer athlete and one of Sporting's original figures, scoring the other. Francisco Stromp would leave football the following year (1924).

The sections of swimming, water polo and rugby where also founded during this period. It was the historic leader and career athlete Salazar Carreira with the help of Sporting that first introduced rugby to Portugal.

In 1928, Sporting first appeared in its famous shirts with horizontal white and green strips: a move provided, largely, by the rugby team. This change occurred while on a tour in Brazil, the first for a Portuguese team, and was largely due to the facts that the kits used by the rugby team where cooler and in better condition than those used by the football team (half white and half green shirt with black socks). It is from these fortunate circumstances that the present day, world famous kit has evolved through history: a kit that is much sought after for its originality. The design of horizontal stripes used by the rugby team was a design of Salazar Carreira and was inspired by his time with the French club Racing de Paris, although Racing de Paris used red and white. Upon returning from Brazil, the football team did however return the kits to the rugby team. However, in October 1928 the football team played a game against Benfica, only to emerge in the second half of the game wearing the shirts of the rugby team. Sporting won the game and so was born... a new kit.

The series of victories in the Campeonato de Portugal (Portuguese Championship) continued into the thirties with Portugal claiming titles in 1933–34, 1935–36, and 1937–38. During this decade, Sporting also claimed success in the sports of tennis, cycling, rugby (regional level), shooting, rink hockey (victory in the National Championship in 1937–38 – the first season of the competition), ice-skating, gymnastics, and fencing.

Alfredo Trindade, already with a variety of titles in numerous cycling disciplines, won the Volta a Portugal in 1933: the first individual and collective victory for Sporting in the most important event of the Portuguese cycling calendar. Trindade became an infamous figure not only for his personal successes but also for his intense rivalry, although tempered with respect and friendship, with the Benfica cyclist José Maria Nicolau. Their epic duels even then, without the presence of the media dynamic that exists today, excited Portugal. José Albuquerque, known as Faísca, won the Volta a Portugal in 1940.

The legendary centre-forward Fernando Peyroteo, who debuted for Sporting in 1937, emerged as the leading scorer of the Portuguese Championship with 34 goals. He would be a central figure in the golden years still to come.

Golden years

The '40s and '50s had where fabulous years for Sporting. 10 of 18 National Football Championships where won during these 20 years, along with four of 13 Portuguese cups that figure in the clubs role of honour. From the 1946–47 season to the 1953–54 season, Sporting won seven of the eight championships contested, including becoming tri- and tetra-champion, losing only in the 1949–50 season. This was the age of the famous Cinco Violinos ("Five Violins") that became infamous on both the national and international levels, alongside with head coaches like Joseph Szabo, Robert Kelly, Randolph Galloway, Cândido de Oliveira, Armando Ferrira, Enrique Fernández and others. The name "Cinco Violinos" was given by the journalist and trainer Tavares da Silva in order to refer to the forward line composed by Jesus Correia, Manuel Vasques, Fernando Peyroteo, José Travassos, and Albano. These men where said to play as an orchestra together in the manner of their collective spirit and efficiency on the field. During these years, Sporting scored 123 goals (almost five per game) in a championship played by 14 teams, 2 less than nowadays. This is certainly a record that will be hard to beat. For instance, Peyroteo, the striker, finished all the 12 seasons he took part in Sporting squad with more goals scored than games played.

As well as the numerous National Championships and Portuguese Cups, Sporting team also claimed victories in the sporting initiative known as Taça O Século (The Century Cup). This competition came to an abrupt end after the Lions won the first two monumental trophies as well as the Taça Império (Imperial Cup).

These times witnessed success beyond measure and as a result Sporting, although not national champions in that year, was invited to participate in the first edition of the Cup of the Clubs of the European Champions, now known as UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately for Sporting fans, UEFA did not launch this competition earlier, otherwise Sporting could most certainly have at least one Cup of the Clubs of the European Champions in his honours. Sporting inaugurated this cup in a game with FK Partizan (3 – 3), in a match held at the Estádio Nacional. It was indeed João Martins that scored the first goal of this now multi-million Euro competition.

Sporting's tetra-championship, the first in Portuguese football, finds its roots in the 1950–51 season with the players: Mário Wilson, Juca, António Jesus Correia, Manuel Passos, Juvenal, Manuel Vasques, Galileu, Veríssimo, José Travassos, Martins, Tormenta, Carlos Gomes, Leandro, Caldeira, Barros, Canário, César Nascimento, Anacleto, Manuel Marques, Pacheco Nobre, Mateus, and Pacheco. The head coach was the British Randolph Galloway, with Fernando Vaz as his assistant.

In 1955, José Travassos became the first Portuguese footballer to be selected for the European XI. He played in Belfast against the team of Great Britain, in a performance that saw him greatly praised by the international media, therefore being named forever thereafter as "Zé da Europa" ("Zé of Europe").

By this time, the famous Sporting academy had already carved its place into the pages of history, winning the first National Junior Championship, held in 1938–39 with the last running of the competition being held in 1960. Sporting would repeat this feat in 1945–46, 1947–48, and 1955–56.

In athletics, Sporting began the journey that would see it become the unrivaled champion of Portuguese athletics: winning 12 championships between 1940/1960 with cross country claiming ten victories during this period.

Francisco Inácio claimed the Volta a Portugal in 1941; however, the amount of national track and road titles reach well beyond this.

In 1945, Sporting founded the first swimming school in Portugal, the país dos marinheiros (country of sailors), where people,however, where poor swimmers. Sporting was already the most pioneering club in the field of nautical sports, however, claiming victories in water polo in the 1920s.

In 1941, Sporting won its first of what would become many titles in handball, with a victory in the Regional Championships of the variant of the game using 11 players (that existed at the time and was played on football fields). The series of 18 national victories that Sporting claims began in 1951–52: a Collection of championships that is unrivaled.

In the fifties, aside from the major titles won by Sporting, victories where also claimed in billiards, fencing, shooting, table tennis (31 championships won up until present day!), badminton and motor racing. Sporting also claimed its two first national championships in volleyball (1953–54 and 1955–56) and its first national basketball championship in 1956. Sporting would go on to win seven titles in basketball until the sport was no longer played at competitive level by the club. In volleyball, which is also no longer played by the club, Sporting claimed four more titles up until 1993–94.

On 10 June 1956, Sporting inaugurated the Estádio José Alvalade, an achievement that was testament to the great level of vitality of the club. The dynamic ability and capacity of the club to undertake such a project was an affirmation of the sacrifices of the associates that made the constructing of such a magnificent stadium possible. Sporting had initially returned to its origins by returning to the Estádio do Lumiar in 1937, which had been rented out, in very good condition, until its renovation in 1947. This stadium had been the home of the infamous recitals of the "Cinco Violinos"; however the stadium was quickly becoming inadequate as Sporting approached its first half-century of life, and the necessity of constructing a new stadium was becoming apparent. This necessity was complimented with the construction of a new stadium, based largely on the site of the old stadium. The stadium was baptised with the name of the founder that had always occupied himself with the quality of the facilities of Sporting: José Alvalade. This name had in fact already been adopted before the construction of the new stadium, with the renovation of the Estádio do Lumiar in 1947, and is still used in the current stadium. The member holding membership number 1 of Sporting at the time of the inauguration of the new grandiose stadium was José Maria Gavazzo: one of the founders of the club and one of the original young holidaymakers in Belas in 1902.

Later, in 1983, under the supervision of the president João Rocha, the ambition of many Sportinguista's was realised with the "closing" of the stadium for the construction of a new seated terrace, that replaced the old standing terrace on the stadium's precinct.

On 6 June 1960, Sporting was declared an institute of public utility.

Manuel Faria, a long distance runner of great prestige, predecessor of Manuel de Oliveira, Carlos Lopes, Fernando Mamede and of the Castro brothers, won the famous race of São Silvestre de São Paulo in 1957 and 1958 which was, until then, the best achievement in Sporting athletics history, along with the 4th place of Álvaro Dias in the long jump at the European Athletics Championships.

European glory

During the sixties, Sporting reached a high point of European success by winning the Cup Winners Cup in 1963/64 in a campaign which ended in a 2 games final against MTK, and saw a spectacular 5-0 win over Manchester United (after a 4-1 defeat in Old Trafford and a goal-fest against Apoel Nicosia: with Sporting winning 16-1, which is still the record as most goals scored in a European match. This victory by a management team largely lacking fame, which few believed would be possible at the outset, was largely due to the togetherness and psychological strength of the team. A team led principally by Gentil Cardoso, later by the architect Anselmo Fernandez and other great names of "Lions" and national football such as Carvalho, Pedro Gomes, Lino, Alexandre Baptista, José Carlos, Hilário, Fernando Mendes (The Great Captain), Geo, Pérides, Osvaldo Silva, Figueiredo, Mascarenhas (managed to score 6 goals in one single European match, which is still a record) and Morais: scorer of the infamous goal directly from a corner (known as "o cantinho de Morais") in Antwerp that would prove to be the winning goal of the match.

With the ending of the Cup Winners's Cup after the 1998–99 season and its subsequent reshaping into the UEFA Cup, Sporting became the only Portuguese club to win this historic title.

Between 1960 and 1999, Sporting's football team would win a further seven National Championships including the 1981–82 championship, and seven more Portuguese Cups, including the 1994–95 Cup: a victory that would mark the return to the top of the national podium after a prolonged absence. The youth team squads would also enjoy success: winning six championships, with the juvenile teams also winning eight titles. Sporting's children would also win three National Cups: an extinct cup during the nineties.

In 1974, with 46 goals, Hector Yazalde, Sporting striker, was Europe's most prolific striker, and so the golden shoe was awarded to him. His record still stands to this day. In 2002, Mário Jardel became the second Sporting player to win this European title of distinction.

New cycle

In 1996, Sporting began a new lease of life, with the actions of José Roquette and other determined characters and leaders, entering Sporting into a period of dynamic transformation. Leaders such as Miguel Galvão Teles, Dias da Cunha and Ernesto Ferreira da Silva: these man played their part in approving new statutes that where fit to face the modern age and would lay the foundations for a business group and Society of Soccer Sports (SAD) that would be admitted into the Portuguese Stock Exchange in 1998. In addition to this sweeping transformation, the club also promoted various measures to encourage transparency in the business relationships of the Club, as well as in tax and social security matters.

The ambitious process of transformation in this period guided Sporting down a path of modernisation of its practices and infrastructures that began long before Portuguese candidature to host Euro 2004 was organised.

The reshaping of Sporting during this period became known as the "Projecto Roquette" ("Roquette's Project"), which was generally understood as being a program of dynamic modernisation of the club on three fronts: sports, through the rationalisation and optimisation of resources available via the updating of the clubs functionality; patrimonial aspects, that provided the club with a multi-functional and profitable elements; and finally the modernisation of the clubs organisation, characterised by an invigorated form that combined dedication and professionalism in a manner that was ready to deal with the present without mortgaging the future of the club.

Also in 1998, Sporting began the idealisation and construction of a new generation stadium. The stadium was inaugurated on the 6th of August 2003 in a ceremony that would be emotionally charged and truly a unforgettable night for all Sportinguistas, and stands amongst the best in the world (it was classified by UEFA as a 5-star stadium).

In addiction to the new stadium, a new Alvalade XXI complex would also be built, which only worked out to further strengthen the mulitifuctionality of the clubs latest achievement. The area where Sporting was born continued to live and was revitalised with the building of the Visconde de Alvalade building, that serves as the housing for the clubs companies; a new shopping centre called Alvaláxia also opened, and operates as a cultural and entertainment centre for everyday, as well as matchday use; Clínica CUF, a medical clinic; a health club; a day-centre, made possible by the expression of solidarity of the "Leões de Portugal" ("Lions of Portugal") organization; and the inauguration of the "Mundo Sporting" ("Sporting's World"), the clubs museum where all Sporting fans have the chance to submerge themselves in the fabulous, living tail that is Sporting Clube de Portugal.

In 2000, in a campaign followed closely by the passionate supporters and members of Sporting, Sporting would reconquer the National Football Championship after 17 long years in absence. The final game of the season saw a sweeping 4-0 victory on the fields of Salgueiros, which would be followed by a nationwide party that reached out to all "Sportinguistas" across the world who had been starved of this prestigious title. The title however would again return to Sporting in 2001/2002 season. A Portuguese Cup and a Portuguese Supercup also reinforced the new footballing dynamic that now existed in Sporting: a dynamic that would drive Sporting all the way to the final of the prestigious UEFA Cup Final. The atmosphere at Estádio José Alvalade was electric as Sporting hosted the final at its own ground. Sporting would lose the game 1-3 to CSKA Moscow after 14 games that expressed Sporting's excellent European pedigree. This loss however did nothing to deduct from the importance of this campaign in the hearts of all "Sportinguistas".

Throughout its long history, the football team of Sporting has enjoyed much European success, reaching 2 European finals and 2 European semi-finals: once in the Cup Winners Cup in 1974 and the other in the UEFA Cup in 1994, in both cases losing to the eventual winner of the competition.

At the start of its second century, Sporting was in no doubt in an enviable state of health: reinforced by the excellence of the work completed by the teams of Sporting in the previous decades, teams that continue to bear fruit and win titles.

Sporting has long held an advantage over its opponents, boasting the best athletics, futsal, table tennis, handball and swimming teams (mainly women), with recent titles also reinforcing again Sporting's dominance in athletics and handball. Sporting also holds most titles in futsal, a relatively new discipline, in which Sporting has enjoyed national, as well as international success.

At the same time, Sporting's athletes have been fighting for victory on all fronts. As Sporting commemorates its centenary, the efforts to keep the club in pole-position on all fronts continue, ensuring that the club is well prepared to deal with the present, as well as the future. The drive to maintain Sporting as Portugal's premier club consistently, as well as one of the best in Europe, continues.

It was Sporting's founding fathers that created the drive to maintain Sporting as on of Europe's greatest clubs. A drive that traces its roots all the way back to the ephemeral Sport Club de Belas and the fateful match against the group from Sintra. The work of all "Sportinguistas" has been characterised over the past 100 years by endless dedication, passion and ambition. Regardless of who carries the baton out front for Sporting, one thing remains certain: Sporting is the greatest sports club in Portugal and one of the best in Europe.

Achievements

National Honors:

-Liga Sagres Champions: 1941, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1982, 2000, 2002

-Portuguese Cup: 1941, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1954, 1963, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1995, 2002, 2007, 2008

-Portuguese Super Cup: 1982, 1987, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008

European Honors:

-European Cup Winners Cup: 1964

-Euro Cup: Runners Up: 2005

Sporting Squad:

(Players in Italics are in their secondary position/s)

(Players in Blue are away from the club on loan)

First Team:

GK: Tiago, Vladimir Stojkovic, Rui Patricio

RB: Abel, Pedro Silva, Caneira

LB: Andre Marques, Leandro Grimi, Gregory (should be dropped to youth squad),Caneira

CB: Caneira, Anderson Polga, Tonel, Dabiel Carrico

DM: Miguel Veloso, Adrien

MC: Adrien, Joao Moutinho, Marat Izmailov

MR: Marat Izmailov, Miguel Angel Angulo, Pereirinha

ML: Simon Vukcevic, Marat Izmailov, Gregory

AM: Simon Vukcevic, Mastias Fernandez, Miguel Angel Angulo

ST: Yannick Djalo, Liedson, Helder Postiga, Felipe Caicedo

Reserves:

GK:Andre Martins, Ricardo Batista

RB: Joao Goncalves

LB: Ronny

CB: Paulo Renato

MC:Fabio Rochemback, Andre Santos, Calsinho

MR: Fabio Paim, Bruno Matias, Marco Matias

AM: Calsinho, Rui Fonte

ST: Rui Fonte, Milan Purovic, Saleiro

Under 19s:

GK: Vitor Golas, Ruben Luis, Joao Figueiredo

RB: Cedric Soares

LB: NONE

CB: Ignacio Ameli, Pedro Mendes, Nuno Reis, Miguel Serodio, Joao Mario, Rodolfo Simoes

DM: Diogo Amado, Afonso Taira

MC: Andre Martins, William Carvalho, Joao Carlos, Luis Almeida, Mateus Fonseca, Rabiu Ibrahim, Renato Santos

MR: Cedric Soares, Renato Santos, Ricardo Esgaio, Alexander Zahavi, Renato Neto

ML: Alexander Zahavi, Alexis Quintulen, Diogo Rosado, Amido Balde, Altair Moreira Souza Junior

AM: Rabiu Ibrahim, Luis Almeida, Mateus Fonseca, Renato Santos, Renato Neto, Alexis Quintulen

ST: Wilson Eduardo, Henrique Gomes, Betinho, William Owusu

Squad Analysis

Considering that you're going to have to do battle with two squads, Porto and Benfica, that will be able to out bid you and overall out spend you, the best thing you can do is focus on youth while making money on players that have been pushed to the bench by your youth. You can afford to do this as Sporting has one of the best youth systems in the world and thats no exaggeration. With that in mind most of the transfer targets listed will be under 1M (though there are some exceptions to that rule). Hope you find the squad analysis helpful.

Goalkeeper

The goalkeeper position might be the strongest part of the Sporting side and if anything you might be best off letting one of your three GKs go to get more transfer funds. Rui Patricio is for me the man between the posts. While all three are very comparable in talent Patricio is the long term answer to the position so I think u're best giving him the job to begin. You have two very capable backups in Tiago and Vladimir Stojkovic but you don't really need both of them. Feyenoord shows interest in Stojkovic to begin the game and Man City will sometimes show interest in Tiago. Both however are Loan to buy offers. I decided to let Stojkovic go to Feyenoord as he garners more money than Tiago. Either way you go you have almost nothing to worry about at this position. Andre Martins is your best youth prospect at GK, he's on loan @ Tourizense to begin the season.

- Key man: Rui Patricio

- Youth Prospect: Andre Martins

- Transfer Target: None Needed

- Youth Target: None Needed but a great young GK in England to keep an eye on is Scott Muggleton

Right Back

The right back position is not a trouble spot but neither is it a strong position. Abel and Pedro Silva are your only natural right backs and they are similar in talent and style. Abel is the better defender but Pedro is the better dribbler and all around offensive threat. While I like having fullbacks that can support the offensive moves for me Abel is the first team choice as he is serviceable enough offensively and his defensive attributes are far better than Silva's. If you decide to bring someone in to upgrade this position a good choice if you can get him is Cristian Ansaldi. I tried to get him in my demo but Porto out bid me and paid 3 million for him. I've gotten him before in other saves at 1.5 million so considering how talented he is I think its a steal. However, considering that you only have limited funds you have to decide whether this position is the one you want to upgrade or not.

- Key man: Abel

- Youth Prospect: None

- Transfer Target: Cristian Ansaldi

- Youth Target: Raul (from Aletico Paranaense) somewhat pricey though

Centre Back

The centre back position is where you have a lot of very similar players but in my opinion not enough top end talent. Anderson Polga is a starter for me because of his defensive attributes and his experience which correlates with his solid mental attributes. Unfortunately, he's on the slow side and you might want to partner him up with someone a little faster. After him there's a large mass of players that you could choose to partner with him, Caneira (too short for my liking, but he's very versatile), Tonel, or your best youth prospect Daniel Carrico who no matter what you decide you should give some time to for his development. As you have a good amount of depth there's no need to use your limited transfer funds on this position but a very good free option is Jorge Andrade. He's probably the best free transfer player put there and he's Portuguese. If you offer him a deal he's bound to take it, he's never turned me down. He won't cost you much and he can easily be the second center defender on your squad. Not that your squad needs one but a player everyone ought to be signing for any team they decide to manage is Marc Muniesa. He starts the game transfer listed by Barcelona and you shouldn't pay any more than 150k on him. He's very good for him age and even if he doesn't one day break into your squad you're bound to get more back than 150k for him if you do sell him later into his career.

- Key man: Anderson Polga

- Youth Prospect: Daniel Carrico

- Transfer Target: Jorge Andrade

- Youth Target: Marc Muniesa

Left Back

The left back position is somewhat weak. You have two options that are serviceable, Andre Marques and Leandro Grimi. Neither is great but they both are decent defenders and can get up the field to support attacks with decent crossing ability. Grimi would be my choice as he has better defensive attributes than Marques. it shouldn't be much of an issue considering the lack of depth at this position but you should make sure to give Marques playing time to help his development as he is 22 years old. Grimi starts the season injured and won't be back till late August. You could try to sign Cristian Ansaldi to upgrade the position and add depth. But if you choose to use your transfer funds elsewhere a cheap free transfer option should be signed for more depth to deal with any injury troubles that come up. One such option is Rogerio Matias (not saying he's great, just decent for a back-up).

- Key man: Leandro Grimi

- Youth Prospect: Andre Marques

- Transfer Target: Cristian Ansaldi

- Youth Target: Joseph Mills (from Southampton) or Jeremy Helan (from Man City)

Defensive Midfield

One of your strongest positions with Miguel Veloso being your best option at this position. He's 23 years old and very good at almost everything. You also have Adrien who at 20 years old is a great youth prospect. So you should try to get Adrien playing time against some of the cupcakes in the league.

- Key man: Miguel Veloso

- Youth Prospect: Adrien

- Transfer Target: None Needed

- Youth Target: None Needed

Right Midfield

Like your fullback positions this position is not that strong. You have Miguel Angel Angulo and Pereirinha at the position and neither is great. You also have Marat Izmailov but he's injured to begin the game for 2 to 4 months. Pereirinha is technically weak but has great speed. Angulo has better technical skill but is much slower. If there was one position that I would recommend upgrading this would be the one. A good option within your limited budget is Sergey Krivets but move on him weakly as in my demo game he was already snapped up by Deportivo when I tried to get him. He can be bought for 375K and be your starter right away.

- Key man: N/A

- Youth Prospect: Pereirinha (sort of)

- Transfer Target: Sergey Krivets

- Youth Target: Eyal Golasa 250K (from M. Haifa), Mohammed Gadir 240K (M. Haifa), or Jose Baxter 1.9M (Everton)

Left Midfield

Left midfield – Simon Vukcevic is man at this position, he's fabulously talented and young at 23 years old. Unfortunately, its not his natural position (not a big deal) and even worse he's the only one that can do the job. You'll need to buy or sign a back up option for this position. If you sign Sergey Krivets for the right side then he can provide some cover for the left side also. But if you want another option for a transfer target then my recommendation would be Milan Badelj (Dinamo). Not sure if you can get him for a reasonable price but he would provide good cover for both sides of the midfield and is only 20 years old so will improve with time.

- Key man: Simon Vukcevic

- Youth Prospect: Altair Moreira Souza (long term prospect at 15 years old)

- Transfer Target: Sergey Krivets or Milan Badelj

- Youth Target: Not needed

Center Midfield

A position that your captain and club icon, Joao Moutinho, has a strangle hold on. There is absolutely no need to spend any of your transfer funds on this position unless its on a long term prospect and even then considering that Mountinho is 22 years old its not really needed. Miguel Veloso, Adrien, Matias Fernandez, and Simon Vekecvic all can also play here.

- Key man: Joao Moutinho

- Youth Prospect: Adrien or Renato Neto

- Transfer Target: None Needed

- Youth Target: None Needed but if you want one Moussa Sissoko would be a fantastic but expensive one.

Attacking Midfield

Matias Fernandez is your best option at AMC, he's young and very talented so there's really no need to look to buy someone at this position. I don't play with an attacking midfielder so I always have some trouble fitting him into my lineup but he should get a good amount of playing time as he has all the ability to be a top performer. I have him learning a wide midfield position so I can fit him in better, you might want to do this also.

- Key man: Matias Fernandez

- Youth Prospect: Renato Neto or Mateus Fonseca

- Transfer Target: None Needed

- Youth Target: Dudu 2M (Cruzeiro)

Strikers

The striking options are IMO very good in the short term. Liedson is one of the best in the world (again IMO) has his finishing is 18, and he has all the other attributes you would want in a striker (other than strength). Helder Postiga is not a bad second option if a little on the slow side. If you prefer someone that can put on the burners then Yannick Djalo is the man for you but his finishing leaves something to be desired. If you want to add some muscle to you front line then you can add Felipe Caicedo who is on loan (who I know well as a Man City fan) who can win a strength battle with almost anyone. I wouldn't spend my money on this position in the short term but I think that at some point during your save you're going to have to address your long term options here. One option is Andy Carroll from Newcastle (though he might be a bit too expensive) or you could look at Chris Wood from West Brom but he also might be a bit too expensive (I just realized, I'm giving a lot of English players, I'm assuming that when the full game comes out that you'll turn on the English database even though you're playing in Portugal).

- Key man: Liedson

- Youth Prospect: Yannick Djalo or Betinho

Note: The squad analysis is based on the default squad and should only be used to give you a brief low down on the squad and each position.

Formation Analysis

I'm going to be somewhat lay (as this as taken me hours already) and I'm only going to offer you what formation I prefer, what the first team looks like in that formation and what roles I give each player in [].

4-1-3-2

Defense

Leandro Grimi [Fullback-Automatic]- Anderson Polga [CD-Defend]- Tonel [CD-Defend]- Abel [Fullback-Automatic]

DMC

------------------------Miguel Veloso [Deep Lying Playmaker-Support]-------------------

Midfield

Simon Vukcevic [Winger-Support]- Joao Moutinho [box-to-Box Midfielder-Support]- Miguel Angel Angulo [Wide Midfielder-Support]

Front Line

Liedson [Deep Lying Forward-Attack]- Helder Postiga [Advanced Forward-Attack]

This lineup is with the assumption that you've made no transfer buys, I obviously don't recommend that but I thought it would be most helpful for players when they are just beginning the game to understand what the formation would look like before you've touched the squad.

What I like about this formation is that it puts your two big guns, Joao Moutinho & Miguel Veloso, in positions and roles that uses their strengths. Miguel Veloso is one of your best defenders, he can break up any attacks that form in the center of the park and with his fantastic passing ability (17) he can get your attack started quickly. Joao Moutinho is so good at everything (so is Veloso who can also play the Box-to-Box) that having him in the Box-to-Box role is really the only sensible thing to do. You want him to be involved in as many parts of the game as you can. His mental ability is so good for someone his age and his stamina is very good also, so you need to worry that he'll make poor decisions in so many different roles and you don't have to worry that he'll get tired.

Staff Analysis

Asst Mgr: Carlos Pereira

He is strong in the three key mental coaching abilities, Det, Mot, Dis = 13, but is no better than average in any coaching area with Att, Def, Tac, Tec all his highest at 11. At age 60 he's not going to get any better than what he is but considering that his contract has only 2 years on it left and he's a decent coach I would keep him.

Asst Mgr: Leonel Pontes

His is also strong in the three key mental coaching abilities, Det = 15, Mot and Dis = 13. His best coaching area is technical where he is 16. He is also only 38 years old so he's a must keep. His contract runs till 2014 and I would plan on keeping him as long as you have the job.

Coach: Jose Oliveira

When you start he's your only regular coach. The rest are either fitness, GK or youth. His mental coaching abilities are painful to even look at, as its Det, Mot, Dis = 5. While this normally means that I would cut him right away, he is only 30 years old and his attacking coaching ability is 16. You have to think that he will grow into at the very least a serviceable coach. Also you start off with only 6 coaches and the board allows you 17, so there's really no reason not to keep him on the staff.

Fitness Coach: Joao Aroso

Has fitness ability of 20, is only 36 years old and has a reasonable wage. Really no reason not to keep him and if you can get one other fitness coach of similar ability then you can have your strength and aerobic training at 4.5/5 stars.

Youth Coach: Carlos Bruno

31 years old (the staff in general seems very young to me) with Dis and Mot = 16, unfortunately the Det is only 7 but considering his age this is very good. His fitness rating is 20 so at worst he's a very good option for your fitness training and with time him might become an very good coach in other areas.

Youth Coach: Telmo Costa

Well it was bound to happen but he's the first man on the staff that I would recommend you offer mutual termination to, as he is just awful. Maybe you could offer him a scouting job as his JA and JP are both 17 but he rejected my offer when I tired. I guess he rather be unemployed.

Youth Coach: Jose Lima

He is the other coach that doesn't make the grade. Is 42 years old and is not very good at really anything. I would give him the boot as it shouldn't be too hard to find coaches that want to coach for Sporting CP that are much better.

Your coaching staff in general is quite small and I personally like having as many coaches as the board will allow me to have. You obviously don't need to have 17 coaches and it probably would be a waste of money but I would recommend these coaches as additions (with the word of wisdom being that this is only from the demo and there are many more coaches that would make even better candidates):

-Patrice Bergues

-Erick Mombaerts

For Physios you already have 4 that will do just fine and your board will only allow 3 so you'd have to fire 2 to sign one. I don't think there's any real need to do this to upgrade your physios but if you did two recommendations are:

-Gary Lewin

-Joffrey Martin

For your scouting staff you have 4 scouts to begin with and you are allowed 12. This is an area where I don't know if everyone would agree with my policy but I think there's no reason not to have as many scouts as you possible can and I sign 8 more scouts when I begin the game with Sporting. Of the 4 that start with you I might cut Paulo Cardoso as his JA and JP are both only 12. There are many scouts that you can find on the demo that have a JA and JP of 15 or over so on the full game you should be able to find even more. No need to even give recommendations, just do a quick filter search.

I hope that this thread has been helpful. I was shocked when I first saw that there was no thread devoted for Sporting CP in FM10 as its one of my favorite teams to play with (and steal players from when I manage other teams). Plz make all the suggestions you can think of and as its my first attempt at any meaningful contribution to this forum plz be kind

Reserved for Patches

Reserved for future Patches

Can a mod fix the title, thx

Also i'll edit the post to add staff analysis and recommendations when I have more time.

Great write-up, I will follow your progress with interest once the full game comes out

Can a mod fix the title, thx

Good one. And I'll fix it.

Good write up !, Played with SL on FM09 and it was one of my favourite ever games, Moutinho and Velsco are amazing, should develop into club legends if you manage to keep hold of them.

Noticed they have alot of deadwood in there reserves like Ronny, Fonte, Milian Purivoc and even Rochemback, once they come back from there loan im sure you could get about 3-5 Million for all of them, maybe more.

Only had a quick look at there squad in the demo but they seem to have alot of youth talent as you would aspect, will need to keep a close eye on Carrico, Adrien, Carvalho and maybe Celsinho.

Simon Vukcevic is one of my favourite players in the world aswell, rare to see such a powerful but skilled winger. Damm stuck between Sporting and Tottenham for my first full game team .

Good write up !, Played with SL on FM09 and it was one of my favourite ever games, Moutinho and Velsco are amazing, should develop into club legends if you manage to keep hold of them.

Noticed they have alot of deadwood in there reserves like Ronny, Fonte, Milian Purivoc and even Rochemback, once they come back from there loan im sure you could get about 3-5 Million for all of them, maybe more.

Only had a quick look at there squad in the demo but they seem to have alot of youth talent as you would aspect, will need to keep a close eye on Carrico, Adrien, Carvalho and maybe Celsinho.

Simon Vukcevic is one of my favourite players in the world aswell, rare to see such a powerful but skilled winger. Damm stuck between Sporting and Tottenham for my first full game team .

I added a little staff analysis. Just finished my demo with them. I'll be sure to have my first save be with Sporting. One of the big issues is keeping you two big main men, Joao and Miguel. Chelsea, Arsenal and other big name clubs were circling and making offers. I've found that the best thing to do is not to reject the offers as then your players will get angry at not being allowed to move clubs but to respond to the offers with counter offers that are as high as the player's release clause. Normally the vultures will just decline to pay the high transfer fee and your players won't get angry.

Can't wait for the full game to come out.

Jester: As a wise man once said, "When you get to a fork in the road take it!" In other words, play with both Sporting & Tottenham, no need to make a difficult decision between two fun teams to play when you can have both. Obviously, I'm assuming you have endless time to play FM, but really what else would one do with their lives

Sporting is a real challenge this season because for once in a long time Benfica look like serious title challengers. With Porto losing Lisandro and Lucho I'd say Benfica look clear title favourites with the squad they've got. Also, you're a bit strapped for cash as Sporting so I reckon getting the title in season 1 will be tough... I'll be giving it a go come Friday though.

Just an idea for left back I picked Veloso up on a Liverpool save on the demo and played him at left back due to injuries and he performed out of his skin rating in the high 7's and low 8's for 10 or 12 games getting a lot of assists he did so well that I decided to leave him there. Just an idea with limited funds also opens up a centre mid slot to play fernandez or adrien more often.

Just an idea for left back I picked Veloso up on a Liverpool save on the demo and played him at left back due to injuries and he performed out of his skin rating in the high 7's and low 8's for 10 or 12 games getting a lot of assists he did so well that I decided to leave him there. Just an idea with limited funds also opens up a centre mid slot to play fernandez or adrien more often.

Very interesting idea. TBH, I hadn't even thought of that andit could have saved me a lot of grief if I had as many games I was leaving a fully fit Fernandez on the bench. On the demo I had been twisting my formation almost every other game (not a good idea for squad cohesion obviously) so I could fit fernandez into the lineup often enough. I uninstalled my demo so I can't check but what is his positional comfort at left back to begin with? Surely if that worked out well it must be decent and you could always train him there on top of that.

One down side is that his offensive contribution to the team might be cut a bit by the move. You said he played really well, did that include assists and goals? I'm assuming with low 8s it must have. Either way, very smart idea.

Oh also, how much did you pay to get him? Just interested b/c when I play with other teams I always make a point of bringing along my fav Sporting players.

Veloso plays some games at left back position irl, so no big surprise.

Btw, good post, been waiting for this ^^

from memory it was 15m over 48 months he has a little yellow dot when you put him at lb but my formation was without wingers so he was getting forward and delivering crosses onto torres' head and also scored a few free kicks which helped the rating a bit but assists were his thing at least 1 or 2 every game I played him there, one game torres had a hattrick from veloso crosses. Cant remember how he was set up but I think it might have been full back with attack duty.

Just started a game as Sporting but playing Veloso in midfield as Moutinho got injured in the first competitive game and is out for 2 -3 months

Just started a game as Sporting but playing Veloso in midfield as Moutinho got injured in the first competitive game and is out for 2 -3 months

OUCH, losing Joao hurts big time. Thats the big downside of the Sporting IMO, if you lsoe either of the two big guns the drop down in talent level is painful.

BTW 15M seems like not a bad price to have paid for a player of his talents considering the amount of money i've seen people pay for other overrated players.

yeah the team managed to win the first few games including champions league at home 1-0 over milan. but were missing joao and now sitting second in league 5 points behind Benfica and need to win last champions league group stage game to make it into 3rd and a euro cup spot. On the plus side joao has just started playing again. One mistake I made was accepting 7m for Liedson although in the long term Lukaku has been brought in so if I continue this save with the full game will be looking fairly good in the future.

Playing 4132 with 3 cms. Brought in Bernardo, Tinga, N'Koulou, Andrade and Lukaku and sold Liedson, Caneira and Tiago and Tonel is leaving in the next window.

Line up is:

GK: Stojkovic

RB: Pedro Silva

LB: will be Grimi when fully fit

CB: Andrade

CB: Polga

DMC: Veloso

MCr: Moutinho

MC: Fernandez

MCl: Vukcevic

FCr: Djalo

FCl: Postiga

Djalo seems to miss a lot of chances and postiga tends to be very up and down. Since Joao has come back he has scored 4 in 4 with 3 assists which has allowed the team to get back ahead of Porto in the league and get a 2 all draw at Milan to keep us in with a chance of making the Euro cup by coming 3rd in the group.

The board just put my transfer budget up to 10m so thinking about continuing when my full game arrives in the next couple of days.

there's something wrong in the clubs info.. Pedro barbosa is not the manager.. he's the director of football.. the manager is Paulo bento..

there's something wrong in the clubs info.. Pedro barbosa is not the manager.. he's the director of football.. the manager is Paulo bento..

Yep, sorry about that. I'll fix it right now.

Started a game with Sporting with my first game, for a bit of a change.

Transfers:

IN:

Fausto Rossi - Juventus - LOAN £525k fee

Mista - Deportivo - £20k

Javier Portillo - Osasuna - £550k

Javier Baraja - Valladolid - £325k

OUT:

Liedson - Chelsea - £2.8m+ future fees

Abel - Maritimo - £500k

Vladimir Stojkovic - Heerenveen - £400k

Team

GK, 4 defenders, 1 DM, 1 CM, 2 Attacking Wingers, 2 strikers

GK: Rui Patricio

RB: Baraja - CB: Tonel - CB: Polga - LB: Grimi

DM: Veloso

CM: Mouthino

AWR: Pereirinha - AWL: Rossi

FW: Postiga - FW: Caicedo

Still got a few players to return from injury that I haven't had chance to evaluate yet.

Qualified for the CL group stage and 2nd in the league after 4 games with ten points. Struggling a bit without Caicedo, who has just been ruled out for 3 months.

Why'd do you sell Leidson? (and so cheaply). He is a goal machine.

Yeah no way I would have sold Leidson for anything below 7.5M and even then i'd do it reluctantly.

I just finished the first six months of my Sporting save but the game won't let me continue till I register and the registration code I was given won't work. I e-mail SI and they told me they've had multiple reports of this issue, so hopefully they'll fix it soon. I've made it to the knock out rounds in the ECC and even better i've drawn the easiest team left, Standard. Would be great to make it to the Quarters with Sporting. ARG!!! I'm itching to play the rest of the season.

Anyone know how to do screen shots? I just realized I have no idea how to do it, and I would like to post some info on the game. Using a mac if that makes a difference.

Print screen button? Paste into paint, save and upload to an image hosting site.

Finished my first season.

Finished 2nd in the league, 1 point behind Porto ><, got eliminated in the play-offs in CL, reached Second Knockout round in UEFA.

My transfers:

Tactics:

Things I've learned about SCP:

-Getting a new GK isn't a priority, Rui Patricio is good;

-Miguel Veloso isn't the machine he was last year;

-Moutinho is a great Box-to-Box midfielder;´

-Adrien's Determination goes up really fast under Moutinho's tutor (17 in my game);

-Caicedo sucks;

-Grimi can do the job in the first season;

-Liédson is a BEAST;

-You can't decide who to play in the AMC position, Matias Fernandez or Vukcevic;

-Angulo should be sold in the first season;

Just my opinions. BTW I'm playing a 4-4-2 diamond wingless formation, so many opinions were based on that

I'm thinking of getting a left back, a young striker and a young CB. Any suggestions?

Antunes for LB, he is cheap and still looks good

Haven't tried him out but Mathias Jorgensen (CB) looks quite good. Gonçalo Brandão could be a good choice although he is already 23/24(?). Pejcinovic or Kryvtsov?

Giacomo Beretta looks quite good (ST). Éder form Empoli.

Can't remember any more players right now. Hope this helped.

Won 5 consecutive Liga Sagres, let Caicedo go after two seasons on loan. Signed Jo from Man City at the end of the 1st season and he plays for fun in this league, lethal. Use him as a trequarista alongside a fast striker and two dangerous wingers. Best I've done in the Champions League was a semi final loss to Barcelona.

team now is

----------------------------------------------Rui Patricio

-----------Diego Renan---------------------------------------------------------Leandro Grimi

-------------------------------Daniel Carrico------------Mathias Jorgensen

-------------------------------------------Miguel Veloso

------------------------------------------Joao Moutinho

-----Peirerinha--------------------------------------------------------------Fausto Rossi

-------------------------------Yannick Djalo------------Jo

Will upload some screen shots soon.

http://s958.photobucket.com/albums/ae64/andrewm1988/?action=view&current=johistory.jpg

Photos in that album

Finished my first season.

Finished 2nd in the league, 1 point behind Porto ><, got eliminated in the play-offs in CL, reached Second Knockout round in UEFA.

My transfers:

Tactics:

Things I've learned about SCP:

-Getting a new GK isn't a priority, Rui Patricio is good; - 1

-Miguel Veloso isn't the machine he was last year; - 2

-Moutinho is a great Box-to-Box midfielder;´ - 3

-Adrien's Determination goes up really fast under Moutinho's tutor (17 in my game); - 4

-Caicedo sucks; - 5

-Grimi can do the job in the first season; - 6

-Liédson is a BEAST; - 7

-You can't decide who to play in the AMC position, Matias Fernandez or Vukcevic; - 8

-Angulo should be sold in the first season; - 9

Just my opinions. BTW I'm playing a 4-4-2 diamond wingless formation, so many opinions were based on that

I'm thinking of getting a left back, a young striker and a young CB. Any suggestions?

1 Yes. Offer him new contracts and a slight wage increase fairly often or he will start to consider new challenges in the future and this slightly puts his performances down.

2. Veloso is still very good in any of the defensive midfield roles. Can even cover as a box to boxer is moutinho isn't available. Does a lot of the work that goes un-noticed until he is out of the side.

3 Yes.

4 Sell him for a nice little sum. He is never going to put Moutinho out of the team and a midfielder of similiar type that will perform in the Liga Sagreas can be bought for a fraction of what Adrien can be sold for.

5 Caicedo had a very good first season for me, done nowt in the second so let City have him back and didn#t put another loan offer in

6 Grimi is a very decent LB for that league, can become very good at taking free kicks and develop his long bullet pass ability

7 I sold him, couldve probably got a bit more but the transfer budget at the start is so poor I had to raise funds some how.

8 I didn't play one, sold them both off at various stages. you don't need a player like that to win the league. play a couple of nippy wingers, capable strikers, conbined with veloso and moutinho in the centre and you will be able to bully/play the rest of the teams off the park anyway.

9. Angulo won't bring in much money at all and doesn't complain much so it does no harm hanging on to him for a season or two as backup.

For LB, Marques is a good enough understudy to Grimi. Mathias Jorgensen has excellent tackling, heading, marking and pace for the CB role, unfortunately just lacks in a few mental attributes and gives the odd penalty away, those states may improve with age though. As for a striker, have a look at the loan list, good young strikers that aren't initially for sale will jump at the chance and if their parent club makes a few signings may find yourself in a position to get them on the cheap. Batuhan of Besiktas is a deadly scorer but wages may be a scuppering block.

Also, how did you manage to get so much money to spend in the first season? Even with sales you've spent 19m net, the board only offered me about £2m for a title challenge, so surely promising the title won't deliver that much extra transfer money.

I'm currently on my second season with Sporting. Won the championship, Portugal and Carlsberg Cup, just lost the champions league against Sevilla 4-3 (1st phase) on my first season.

My current team:

I'm training Pereirinha for right full back since I have plenty of wingers on the team.

Still need to get a better left full back to take Garrido's place, probably Renan if I get some cash.

This season transfers:

Got rid of all the dead wood on the reserves team, except a few younger players.

Also got this guy for 700m and he's turning into a very decent player

Started a Sporting save because I really like their midfield, just got underway in my first season. Current squad:

GK: Enyeama/Patricio

DR: Caneira/Silva

DC: Andrade/Campbell

DC: Polga/Tonel

DL: Edman/Grimi

DMC: Veloso/Gunnarsson

MC: Moutinho/Adrien

MC: Gunnarsson/Adrien

AMC: Fernandez/Vukcevic/Hugo

ST: Postiga/Djalo/Hugo

ST: Liedson/Caicedo

Transfers:

My aim this season is to win the Liga Sagres and the Portugese Cup as well as getting to a respectable stage of the champions league.

Results so far:

I'm very happy with how it's going so far, granted it's only very early in the season but as long as my key players don't get any lengthy injuries I think I'm well on target for my season goals. I've got Postiga out for 2 months at the moment which is a blow but Hugo & Djalo should do a good job while he's out. Depending on how the season goes my aim next year is to carry on building around the midfield, I'm keen to keep onto Moutinho, Veloso, Adrien, Fernandez & Vukcevic for as long as I can and challenge for the Champions league in 1/2 years. I'm keeping an eye on Beckham & Deco to see if I can bring them in on frees next season too.

Hopefully you other people with sporting saves can update us on any progress you've made, this topic is a bit dead really :[

aardvarked why did you borrow Daniel Carriço? He was a important player for me, even on the first season.

I got a job offer from Inter, so I left SCP

Good luck everyone else.

I ended up with 1 more central defender than I thought it was worth having, he would have been 4th choice (probably) for me this season so I decided to let him get some experience somewhere else, also I got a decent amount for his loan fee so that helped make my decision ;] He'll most definitely be part of my plans in my second season.

I made it through to the knockout stage of the champions league where I've drawn Juventus, I was pretty happy with the draw as I finished second and managed to avoid Real, Milan etc.I did get knocked out of the Portugese cup in a pretty early stage though

I've bought Vidal & Cristialdo in the January window and I have Botia (Prospect for the future) & Feghouli joining on frees next season. I also bought Pinto for £200k beccause I wanted another decent young Portuguese prospect.

hey guys.. im thinking of starting a porto save.

anyone know what kinda transfer budget they get in the second season? do you ever start getting lots of $$ to build a world dominating team?

hey guys.. im thinking of starting a porto save.

anyone know what kinda transfer budget they get in the second season? do you ever start getting lots of $$ to build a world dominating team?

you're on wrong thread, ask it here: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=153961

lol. sorry DeathSpawn.

i did actually mean Sporting not Porto. haha

do you know 2nd season budget?

It was £10m for me with a title challenge objective and the board added another £5m or so during the first window, I finished 2nd last season, lost to juventus in the first knockout phase of champs league, got knocked out in portugese cup in the quarter finals and won the league cup - not bad but with my squad I should have done better.

In my second season I'm second in the league - 1point behind Porto in Jan after dropping some really cheap points to lower teams and my only loss until now has been 1-0 away against them. I've drawn Madrid in the champions league though so looks like my chances of getting further this year are slim

My transfers (Made good use of paying back in installments)

Squad:

GK: Adler/Enyeama/Costa (17 year old regen who looks very promising)

DR: Renan/Pedro Silva

DL: Mattock/Edman/Sakho

DC: Sakho/Andrade

DC: Carrico/Tonel

MC (Defensive): Veloso/Vidal/Gunnarsson

MC: Moutinho/Adriend

MC: Vidal/Gunnarsson

AMC: Fernandez/Vukcevic/Hugo

ST: Djalo/Sobis

ST: Chamakh/Postiga

Also have Rits (MC) and Cristialdo (ST) who will hopefully get more games next season.

If anyone needs a cheap AMC in the first season Hugo from Sao Paulo is a fantastic buy. I bought him for 450k and he did an excellent job, 10 goals and 6 assists in 22 appearances with an average rating of 7.31, he was also voted transfer of the season :]

my first season was very succesful for me players like adrien, felipe caicedo and moutinho were amazing, i won both cups and the league got to the quarter finals of the champions league which i was very happy with. Im now in my second season with CP, i bought vagner love and kacar in the transfer window but unfortunatly i lost miguel veloso he was unsettled at the club and wanted to move on fingers crossed though i can have a good season like last year

Good luck mate, I'll post an update at some point but I won the champions league last season, still can't quite believe it :x Madrid 2-1 on aggregate, 5-3 against lyon, 4-1 against Lyon and 2-1 in extra time against Chelsea in the final. Came second in the league though

Annan, Vidal or Sandro would be good replacements for Veloso providing they're not too expensive on your game

Has anyone had any success tutoring Veloso to improve his determination? Wondering if anyone can recommend a particular player to undertake it...also has anyone tutored Moutinho so his determination can reach 20?

I've bought a few good players for big money paying installments, be careful though the prize money in Portugal is crap so make sure you can do well in Europe or the worth of the club will drop like a stone unless you fancy selling the likes of Moutinho to balance the books.

In 8th season, storming the liga sagres. made a few big signings hoping to win something in europe as the portuguese comps really dont pay the bills! team:

using 442 baboon tact

gk rui patricio

rb wing back diego renan (7.75m cruzeiro)

cb limited matias martinez (awesome regen £4.5m dinamo)

cb limited daniele carrico

lb full back joe mattock (16.5m west brom

mr winger sotiris ninis (11.75m his greek team at the start forgot there name just signed him in the summer)

mc ball winning joao moutingo

mc adv playmaker countinho (14.75m palermo)

ml winger fausto rossi (5m juventus)

fc deep lying miralem sulejmani (12.75m ajax)

fc advanced Jo (6m man city)

Started a new game with Sporting today to get a challenge outside of the Uk. Doing well haven't really changed the team really just turned the backroom staff around really and signing Gaston Fernandez on a free who has forged a solid partnership with Lledson already, also signed Renan from sao paulo for 725K and Gerardo Bedoya on a free as back up.

Well what i came on to say was that after i qualified for the champions league with a 6-1 aggregate thrashing of FC Twente and got the prize money i asked the board for more transfer funds and now have 20m to spend. Has this happened to anyone else? Its the 30th August when i done it by the way

Just finished my first season with Sporting. Had a decent season, finished second in the league (Porto was way to strong, I was the only team to beat them), won the league cup (beat Benfica in the final) and got too the first knockout round in the CL (Beat Inter 1-0 in the first home-leg but got thrashed 4-0 away).

Too many draws for me, but at least I beat Benfica to the 2nd place and got CL-qualification. Great season by Porto. Very happy with my defensive perfomance, really solid even in CL (2nd in the group, just one point behind Barca).

The reason why I started with Sporting was their great youngsters. Rui Patricio, Carrico, Veloso, Moutinho and Adrien are key players already. I`m really enjoying developing these guys, Adrien particulary as he has developed very nicely (I had Moutinho tutor him immediatly, and his determination shot up right away). His stats have gone up ever since I started my game, and there has not been a week when he hasn`t had any green arrows. Got around 10 assists in the first season and even decided the league cup final against Benfica with his first goal for me

http://www.image-upload.net/viewer.php?file=vk5x7wigrfcbjgfon2yk.png

Had to strengthen my midfield because of injuries in the start of the season and loaned Mate Simao from Panathinaikos. Really solid, young and consistent DM. Ended up buying him after the season:

http://img231.imageshack.us/i/20matesimao.png/

Also found this gem of a player from Brazil (regen). Should become a great player...

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/8913/flvio.png/url]

This guy came through my to my U-19 team:

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9474/andrmartins.png

Should become a good player

Otherwise Mathias Fernandez had a very good season with 16 goals and 11 assists in all competions, Postiga finished the season strongly with 10 goals in the league. Liedson also had a good season, but sold him too Lyon and bought Diego Tardelli instead.

so...im just geting started with this team, signed mostly a few yougsters to bulk up my team (lack of wage budget made it a good alternative), and everything have pretty much gone according to plan, 6 league games played, all won and 22 goals scored (yay), I dispatched Sivasspor with ease, won first game vs celtic 2-0....then disaster struckt lost the away leg 5-2 after horrid defending and them scoring on all shoots they had on target...booo, not even the groupe stage...so I will have to be content with europa league for this first year, shame since I really wanted to see how well my team could match up vs the best

so for a question, which of the youngsters in the youth team turn out class?

Session 1 review

if we disregard continental humiliation, things did infact go pretty well with a domestic dubble as a result, and we won the league with little effort, to be honest i was unlucky to drop points in the games i did, and should possibly have done a perfect league session, won all games vs the big teams apart from a pen lose vs Porto in the leauge cup semi (could might be argued to be poor luck to since I handed them a late equalizer with a 90'th min pen:mad: )

in the market I got rid of players I did not consider useful, first priorety was to find a left back, with Tininho brought on free just to make sure I had stuff covered and later I managed to settle on Gabriel Silva as my main signing for this job

and with such lack of squad depth and low wage budget this team have I bought a bunch of bargin youngsters I have never tried befor, Taufic Guarch have in particular looked impressive so far with 8 goals and 9 assists in his first 15 (1) games (making this guy a legend and the best Guarch ever seen on these forums will surly make me play this save a bit extra)