Daniel Bragança on winning three championship titles, Rui Borges’ impact and the role of the fans in Sporting’s success | OneFootball

The 2020/2021, 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 seasons are three years that Daniel Braganca will never forget. At the age of 25, twelve of which he has spent at Sporting, the midfielder celebrated his third championship last Saturday.

In an exclusive interview with Flashscore, the winger recalled the difficulties faced by the Green and Whites while emphasising the importance of Rui Borges in restoring confidence to the squad after Ruben Amorim’s departure.

It’s been 12 years since you left your birthplace Fazendas de Almeirim (100 km northeast of Lisbon) for the Alcochete Academy. In your wildest dreams, did you think that by the age of 25 you’d have these three league titles in your pocket?

“It was a dream ever since I was a child. My grandparents and parents used to take me to the Alvalade Stadium to watch Sporting - that was already a childhood dream, to see Sporting champions. And the truth is that Sporting became champions when I was in the first team. If dreaming is good, achieving it is even better.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that Sporting would only be champions when I was in the first team, but the truth is that this was the reality. I’m happy for all the effort my grandparents and parents made to get me to the Jose Alvalade Stadium. I never got to celebrate a championship as a fan. Nowadays, I celebrate as a player and as a fan.”

It was a championship with many incidents, but it was also characterised by Sporting’s consistency. Only two defeats in the whole championship and seven draws. Were Sporting the most consistent team in one of the closest championships in recent years?

“Yes, I think it was one of the closest championships in Portugal. It wasn’t decided until the last matchday and two teams could still be champions. We’ve been in front for much longer, always in first place, and I think we were fair winners.”

Some say that if Ruben Amorim had stayed, you would have been champions sooner. Did you talk about that inside or not?

“It’s impossible to say anything like that. We don’t know what could happen or not, whether we’d be able to keep up the pace or not. We’ll never know. But the truth is that, whatever happened, we managed to win the championship. Sometimes teams are left without a manager because things are going badly. I don’t often remember teams being left without a manager in the middle of the season because things were going so well.

“Sometimes, when things are going badly, another coach comes in and things start to go better. It was different here: it was a different shock. We lost a coach who had been here for five seasons, who had changed the history and life of Sporting. It was a shock for us. We accepted it and understood.

“Just as there are players who stand out and leave in January - and sometimes it’s difficult to keep them here - coach Ruben Amorim was doing an excellent job at Sporting, he was highly coveted, not for the first time, and he ended up leaving. That’s football. It was a shock, but the group took it well. Things happened and it had to be that way.”

Then Joao Pereira came in, but he didn’t stay long, and Rui Borges arrived, who is said to have a very strong leadership ability, to unite the squad. Is that when you felt that the click that would allow you to become champions?

“I don't think it was so much because of Joao Pereira that things started to go wrong, I think it was our psychological state that got the better of us. When the team isn’t doing well, it snowballs. I remember injury after injury, then players wanting to come back because they felt the team needed it, and then coming back from injury too soon and getting injured again. It all started to snowball.

“But the truth is that when Rui Borges arrived, he brought us the calm, serenity and confidence that the group needed at that moment. He arrived at the right time. He didn’t have an easy time of it - injuries continued - and then, when the snowball starts, it’s hard to clear everything up at once.

“Although he didn't have an easy role, he managed to overcome all the difficulties he had when he landed here and he has a lot to his credit in this championship. He turned up at the right time, when the team needed him most, and things went very well because he did his job very well and he deserves a lot of credit for this achievement.”

He also knew how to adapt the team’s playing model to the players he had. That’s also a sign of the coach’s intelligence.

“Yes, he brought his idea, that’s normal, but he realised that he had little time to train and explain it. The group was already so used to those tactics, we played with our eyes closed, and I think he realised that he couldn’t change everything. It was clever of him and it worked out well, winning the championship.”

Despite injury, you still played in 29 games in all competitions, scored four goals and provided nine assists. Do you feel you were on your way to one of your best seasons in the first team? What can we expect from Daniel Braganca next season? To continue these figures? Improve them?

“We were having an excellent team season and I, individually, was also going through a good moment, not just in terms of numbers. The season was going well for me, but then this injury happened. I’m not going to promise anything, I can only promise ambition, belief and the strength to come back even stronger.”

Do you hope, as a first-team player, to keep the bulk of the squad? There are strong conversations about Gyökeres leaving, which may be inevitable.

“When you win, it’s hard to keep all the best players, but that’s the reality, unfortunately or fortunately, I don’t know. We have to be able to deal with possible departures.

“In other years, we’ve shown that even when someone leaves, we can always bring in someone better or equal and still win. Whatever happens, the important thing is that Sporting does well and remains competitive.”

How important were the fans in winning this title?

“Very important. A while ago, I posted a story asking for support no matter what happened because they’ve been very important throughout this season, more than in Alvalade, where their tireless support is normal, they’ve made themselves felt all over Portugal and that’s been very important for us.

“The most important thing isn’t to have them when you win, then it’s easy to have anyone on your side. The important thing is to have them when you’re in that phase of doubt, when you draw and when you lose, and they were there for us in that phase.

“This championship, as always, has been theirs and they’ve been fundamental to another achievement. I hope that on Sunday at Jamor they’ll be heard once again and that they’ll help us fight to win.”