The Portuguese credits his loyalty to his trusty Casio watch for helping the head coach lift the Lisbon club after Ruben Amorim’s messy exit
If there is a stoppage in what is sure to be a supercharged Dérbi de Lisboa on Friday, the Sporting head coach, Rui Borges, will likely look down to check the watch he considers a lucky charm.
The black Casio – bought for €20 while still playing for his hometown club Mirandela in north-east Portugal, 150km inland from Porto – is a symbol of his superstitious nature and one he has maintained on his journey from the obscurity of being an amateur coach to making a mark on the biggest stage in club football.
The 44-year-old Portuguese picked up the pieces after the turbulence brought by Ruben Amorim’s exit for Manchester United and is quietly forging a fine reputation himself, with Sporting chasing a third straight league title and vying to qualify automatically for the knockout stages of the Champions League. It promises to be significant few days, a trip across town to Benfica’s Estádio da Luz, the warmup for a visit to the Allianz Arena and Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Borges’s maiden steps as a coach came at fourth-tier Mirandela, where he bookended a modest playing career, reaching the Portuguese second division as good as it got. Borges has made a bigger splash in the dugout, securing a domestic double with Sporting last season, winning the league and cup in his first season. This season Sporting are second, three points behind Porto and three in front of Benfica.
