Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim gestures on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League group C soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon at Signal Iduna Park. Bernd Thissen/dpa
Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim hailed the fans as a big reason why they have won their 24th Portuguese league title.
Sporting secured the Portuguese championship on Sunday thanks to an unexpected 2-0 defeat for rivals Benfica at Famalicão.
With two games remaining, coach Amorim’s team are now eight points clear of their city neighbours – managed by Germany’s Roger Schmidt – and cannot be overtaken.
“The wave of support has a huge meaning. When we reach the end of the season, it is normal for there to be enthusiasm. What is not normal is the way in which, since preseason, the fans have backed us from the beginning, after a very difficult season last time,” he said.
“They have played a very important role so far and I want to remind people that, in the year of Covid-19, everyone said that one of the reasons Sporting became champions was that there were no fans. They had to respond to this and they responded in the best way possible.”
Amorim had been linked in the media with replacing Liverpool’s outgoing coach Jürgen Klopp, but the Premier League side look to have opted for Feyenoord’s Arne Slot instead.
Bayern Munich have floundered in their bid to find a new coach but as yet, Amorim’s name has not featured prominently in media speculation regarding the Bavarians.
